GIFT   ©F 
Mrs.   ^illiam  Denman 


A  Japanese  Miscellany 


of 

By   LAFCADIO  HEARN 


IN  GHOSTLY  JAPAN 

EXOTICS  AND   RETROSPECTIVES 

SHADOWINGS 

A  JAPANESE  MISCELLANY 

New  Popular  Editions,  Illustrated 

16  mo.,  4  vols.  in  box,  $5.00 


fnv^ 
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C)YA.>V4    NO, 

O-KON  SAN  WA 


Sfe  Page  ;;S 


A    JAPANESE 
MISCELLANY 

BY    LAFCADIO    HEARN 

LECTURER  ON  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  IN  THE 
IMPERIAL  UNIVERSITY  OF  TOKYO.— AUTHOR 
OF  "EXOTICS  AND  RETROSPECTIVES,"  "IN 
GHOSTLY  JAPAN,"  "  SHADOWINGS,"  ETC. 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

MCMVI 


Copyright,  1901, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


^Ld.  *<•<<  ( 


Printer* 

S.  J.  PARKHILL  <fe  Co.,  BOSTON,  U.  8. 


r    -^          e  / 


[ 
•"•*4 


TO 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  BISLAND  WETMORE 


M126605 


Contents 


STRANGE  STORIES:  — 

I.    OF  A  PROMISE  KEPT 5 

II.  OF  A  PROMISE  BROKEN 15 

III.  BEFORE  THE  SUPREME  COURT 29 

IV.  THE  STORY  OF  KWASHIN  KOJI 37 

V.  THE  STORY  OF  UMETSU  CHUBEI 55 

VI.    THE  STORY  OF  KOGI  THE  PRIEST 65 

FOLKLORE  GLEANINGS  :- 

I.  DRAGON-FLIES  (illustrated] 81 

II.  BUDDHIST  NAMES  OF  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS    .    .  125 

III.  SONGS  OF  JAPANESE  CHILDREN  (illustrated}  .    .  143 

STUDIES  HERE  AND  THERE:  — 

I.  ON  A  BRIDGE 235 

II.  THE  CASE  OF  O-DAI 243 

III.  BESIDE  THE  SEA  (illustrated] 255 

IV.  DRIFTING 269 

V.    OTOKICHI'S  DARUMA  (illustrated) 283 

VI.  IN  A  JAPANESE  HOSPITAL 299 


Illustrations 


"  Oyama  no, 
O-Kon  San  wa" Frontispiece 

Dragon-flies:—  Facing  page 

Plate  1 84 

I.  Shio-Tombo  ("Salt"  D.) 
II.  Mugiwara-Tombo  ("  Barley  Straw"  ) 
Plate  2 85 

I.  Kino-Tombo 

II.  Ko-Mugi-Tombo 

Plate  3 86 

Yurei-Tombo  ("Ghost"  D.)  or  Kuro-Tombo 
("Black"  D.) 

Plate  4 87 

I.  Shojo-Tombo 
II.  Kan^-tsuke-Tombo  ("Stained-wtib-Kane"  D.) 

Plate  5 88 

Haguro-Tombo 
Plate  6 89 

I.  Seki-i-Shisha  ("Red-Robed  Messenger"  ) 
II.  Aka-Tombo 

The  Feast  of  the  Ghosts 256 

Yuki-Daruma Page  287 

Toy-Daruma 289 

Otokichi's   Daruma.     1 290 

II 292 

III.  296 


STRANGE  STORIES 


Of  a  Promise  Kept 


Of  a  Promise  Kept1 

* 

"  T    SHALL  return  in  the  early  autumn,"  said 

Akana   Soyemon   several   hundred   years 

ago,  —  when    bidding    good-bye   to    his 

brother  by  adoption,  young  Hasebe  Samon.    The 

time  was  spring;  and  the  place  was  the  village 

of  Kato  in  the  province  of  Harima.    Akana  was 

an  Izumo  samurai ;   and  he  wanted  to  visit  his 

birthplace. 

Hasebe  said :  — 

"  Your  Izumo,  —  the  Country  of  the  Eight- 
Cloud  Rising,2  —  is  very  distant.  Perhaps  it 
will  therefore  be  difficult  for  you  to  promise  to 
return  here  upon  any  particular  day.  But,  if  we 
were  to  know  the  exact  day,  we  should  feel  hap 
pier.  We  could  then  prepare  a  feast  of  welcome ; 

1  Related  in  the  Ugetsu  Monogatari. 
a  One  of  the  old  poetical  names  for  the  Province  of 
Izumo,  or  Unshu. 

5 


6  Japanese  Miscellany 

and  we  could  watch  at  the  gateway  for  your 
coming." 

"  Why,  as  for  that,"  responded  Akana,  "  I 
have  been  so  much  accustomed  to  travel  that  I 
can  usually  tell  beforehand  how  long  it  will  take 
me  to  reach  a  place;  and  I  can  safely  promise 
you  to  be  here  upon  a  particular  day.  Suppose 
we  say  the  day  of  the  festival  Choyo  ? " 

"  That  is  the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth  month," 
said  Hasebe ;  —  "  then  the  chrysanthemums  will 
be  in  bloom,  and  we  can  go  together  to  look  at 
them.  How  pleasant !  ...  So  you  promise  to 
come  back  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth 
month  ?  " 

"  On  the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth  month," 
repeated  Akana,  smiling  farewell.  Then  he 
strode  away  from  the  village  of  Kato  in  the 
province  of  Harima ;  —  and  Hase'be  Samon  and 
the  mother  of  Hasebe  looked  after  him  with 
tears  in  their  eyes. 

"  Neither  the  Sun  nor  the  Moon,"  says  an  old 
Japanese  proverb,  "ever  halt  upon  their  jour 
ney."  Swiftly  the  months  went  by ;  and  the 
autumn  came,  —  the  season  of  chrysanthemums. 
And  early  upon  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day  of 


Of  a  Promise  Kept  7 

the  ninth  month  Hasebe  prepared  to  welcome  his 
adopted  brother.  He  made  ready  a  feast  of  good 
things,  bought  wine,  decorated  the  guest-room, 
and  filled  the  vases  of  the  alcove  with  chrysan 
themums  of  two  colors.  Then  his  mother, 
watching  him,  said :  —  "  The  province  of  Izumo, 
my  son,  is  more  than  one  hundred  ri l  from  this 
place;  and  the  journey  thence  over  the  moun 
tains  is  difficult  and  weary;  and  you  cannot  be 
sure  that  Akana  will  be  able  to  come  to-day. 
Would  it  not  be  better,  before  you  take  all  this 
trouble,  to  wait  for  his  coming  ?  "  "  Nay, 
mother  !  "  Hasebe  made  answer  —  "  Akana 
promised  to  be  here  to-day :  he  could  not  break 
a  promise  !  And  if  he  were  to  see  us  beginning 
to  make  preparation  after  his  arrival,  he  would 
know  that  we  had  doubted  his  word  ;  and  we 
should  be  put  to  shame." 

The  day  was  beautiful,  the  sky  without  a 
cloud,  and  the  air  so  pure  that  the  world  seemed 
to  be  a  thousand  miles  wider  than  usual.  In  the 
morning  many  travellers  passed  through  the 
village  —  some  of  them  samurai ;  and  Hasebe, 
watching  each  as  he  came,  more  than  once  im- 

1  A  ri  is  about  equal  to  two  and  a  half  English  miles. 


8  Japanese  Miscellany 

agined  that  he  saw  Akana  approaching.  But  the 
temple-bells  sounded  the  hour  of  midday ;  and 
Akana  did  not  appear.  Through  the  afternoon 
also  Hasebe  watched  and  waited  in  vain.  The 
sun  set;  and  still  there  was  no  sign  of  Akana. 
Nevertheless  Hasebe  remained  at  the  gate,  gazing 
down  the  road.  Later  his  mother  went  to  him, 
and  said  :  —  "  The  mind  of  a  man,  my  son,  — 
as  our  proverb  declares  —  may  change  as  quickly 
as  the  sky  of  autumn.  But  your  chrysan 
themum-flowers  will  still  be  fresh  to-morrow. 
Better  now  to  sleep ;  and  in  the  morning  you  can 
watch  again  for  Akana,  if  you  wish."  "  Rest  well, 
mother,"  returned  Hasebe;  —  "but  I  still  believe 
that  he  will  come."  Then  the  mother  went  to 
her  own  room ;  and  Hasebe  lingered  at  the  gate. 
The  night  was  pure  as  the  day  had  been  :  all 
the  sky  throbbed  with  stars  ;  and  the  white  River 
of  Heaven  shimmered  with  unusual  splendor. 
The  village  slept ;  —  the  silence  was  broken  only 
by  the  noise  of  a  little  brook,  and  by  the  far 
away  barking  of  peasants'  dogs.  Hase'be  still 
waited,  —  waited  until  he  saw  the  thin  moon  sink 
behind  the  neighboring  hills.  Then  at  last  he 
began  to  doubt  and  to  fear.  Just  as  he  was 
about  to  re-enter  the  house,  he  perceived  in  the 


Of  a  Promise  Kept  9 

distance  a  tall  man  approaching, —  very  lightly 
and  quickly ;  and  in  the  next  moment  he  recog 
nized  Akana. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Hasebe,  springing  to  meet  him 
—  "I  have  been  waiting  for  you  from  the  morn 
ing  until  now  !  ...  So  you  really  did  keep  your 
promise  after  all.  .  .  .  But  you  must  be  tired, 
poor  brother !  —  come  in ;  —  everything  is  ready 
for  you."  He  guided  Akana  to  the  place  of 
honor  in  the  guest-room,  and  hastened  to  trim 
the  lights,  which  were  burning  low.  "  Mother," 
continued  Hasebe',  "felt  a  little  tired  this  even 
ing,  and  she  has  already  gone  to  bed ;  but  I  shall 
awaken  her  presently."  Akana  shook  his  head, 
and  made  a  little  gesture  of  disapproval.  "  As 
you  will,  brother,"  said  Hasebe ;  and  he  set  warm 
food  and  wine  before  the  traveller.  Akana  did 
not  touch  the  food  or  the  wine,  but  remained 
motionless  and  silent  for  a  short  time.  Then, 
speaking  in  a  whisper,  —  as  if  fearful  of  awaken 
ing  the  mother,  he  said  :  — 

"  Now  I  must  tell  you  how  it  happened  that 
I  came  thus  late.  When  I  returned  to  Izumo  I 
found  that  the  people  had  almost  forgotten  the 
kindness  of  our  former  ruler,  the  good  Lord 
Enya,  and  were  seeking  the  favor  of  the  usurper 


10  Japanese  Miscellany 

Tsunehisa,  who  had  possessed  himself  of  the 
Tonda  Castle.  But  I  had  to  visit  my  cousin, 
Akana  Tanji,  though  he  had  accepted  service 
under  Tsunehisa,  and  was  living,  as  a  retainer, 
within  the  castle  grounds.  He  persuaded  me  to 
present  myself  before  Tsunehisa :  I  yielded  chiefly 
in  order  to  observe  the  character  of  the  new  ruler, 
whose  face  1  had  never  seen.  He  is  a  skilled  sol 
dier,  and  of  great  courage ;  but  he  is  cunning  and 
cruel.  1  found  it  necessary  to  let  him  know  that 
I  could  never  enter  into  his  service.  After  1  left 
his  presence  he  ordered  my  cousin  to  detain  me 
—  to  keep  me  confined  within  the  house.  I  pro 
tested  that  I  had  promised  to  return  to  Harima 
upon  the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth  month ;  but  I 
was  refused  permission  to  go.  I  then  hoped  to 
escape  from  the  castle  at  night ;  but  I  was  con 
stantly  watched ;  and  until  to-day  I  could  find  no 
way  to  fulfil  my  promise.  .  .  ." 

"  Until  to-day !  "  exclaimed  Hasebe  in  bewil 
derment  ;  —  "  the  castle  is  more  than  a  hundred 
ri  from  here !  " 

"  Yes,"  returned  Akana  ;  "  and  no  living  man 
can  travel  on  foot  a  hundred  ri  in  one  day.  But 
I  felt  that,  if  I  did  not  keep  my  promise,  you 
could  not  think  well  of  me;  and  I  remembered 


Of  a  Promise  Kept  11 

the  ancient  proverb,  Tamayoku  icbi  nichi  ni  sen  ri 
woyuku  ["  The  soul  of  a  man  can  journey  a  thou 
sand  ri  in  a  day  "] .  Fortunately  I  had  been  allowed 
to  keep  my  sword ;  —  thus  only  was  I  able  to 
come  to  you.  ...  Be  good  to  our  mother." 

With  these  words  he  stood  up,  and  in  the  same 
instant  disappeared. 

Then  Hasebe  knew  that  Akana  had  killed  him 
self  in  order  to  fulfil  the  promise. 

At  earliest  dawn  Hasebe  Samon  set  out  for  the 
Castle  Tonda,  in  the  province  of  Izumo.  Reach 
ing  Matsue,  he  there  learned  that,  on  the  night  of 
the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth  month,  Akana  Soye- 
mon  had  performed  harakiri  in  the  house  of 
Akana  Tanji,  in  the  grounds  of  the  castle.  Then 
Hasebe  went  to  the  house  of  Akana  Tanji,  and 
reproached  Akana  Tanji  for  the  treachery  done, 
and  slew  him  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  and  es 
caped  without  hurt.  And  when  the  Lord  Tsune- 
hisa  had  heard  the  story,  he  gave  commands  that 
Hasebe  should  not  be  pursued.  For,  although 
an  unscrupulous  and  cruel  man  himself,  the  Lord 
Tsunehisa  could  respect  the  love  of  truth  in 
others,  and  could  admire  the  friendship  and  the 
courage  of  Hasebe  Samon. 


Of  a  Promise  Broken 


Of  a  Promise  Broken1 


I 

I  AM  not  afraid  to  die,"  said  the  dying 
wife  ;  —  "  there  is  only  one  thing  that 
troubles  me  now.  I  wish  that  I  could 
know  who  will  take  my  place  in  this  house." 

"  My  dear  one,"  answered  the  sorrowing  hus 
band,  "  nobody  shall  ever  take  your  place  in  my 
home.  I  will  never,  never  marry  again." 

At  the  time  that  he  said  this  he  was  speaking 
out  of  his  heart  ;  for  he  loved  the  woman  whom 
he  was  about  to  lose. 

"  On  the  faith  of  a  samurai  ?  "  she  questioned, 
with  a  feeble  smile. 

"  On  the  faith  of  a  samurai,"  he  responded,  — 
stroking  the  pale  thin  face. 

"Then,  my  dear  one,"  she  said,  "  you  will  let 
me  be  buried  in  the  garden,  —  will  you  not  ?  — 
near  those  plum-trees  that  we  planted  at  the 

1  Izumo  legend. 

15 


16  Japanese  Miscellany 

further  end?  I  wanted  long  ago  to  ask  this; 
but  I  thought,  that  if  you  were  to  marry  again, 
you  would  not  like  to  have  my  grave  so  near 
you.  Now  you  have  promised  that  no  other 
woman  shall  take  my  place ;  —  so  I  need  not 
hesitate  to  speak  of  my  wish.  ...  I  want  so 
much  to  be  buried  in  the  garden !  I  think  that 
in  the  garden  I  should  sometimes  hear  your 
voice,  and  that  I  should  still  be  able  to  see  the 
flowers  in  the  spring." 

"  It  shall  be  as  you  wish,"  he  answered.  "  But 
do  not  now  speak  of  burial :  you  are  not  so  ill 
that  we  have  lost  all  hope." 

"/  have,"  she  returned;  — "  I  shall  die  this 
morning.  .  .  .  But  you  will  bury  me  in  the 
garden  ? " 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  —  "  under  the  shade  of  the 
plum-trees  that  we  planted ;  —  and  you  shall  have 
a  beautiful  tomb  there." 

"  And  will  you  give  me  a  little  bell  ?  " 

"Bell  —  ?" 

"Yes:  I  want  you  to  put  a  little  bell  in  the 
coffin, —  such  a  little  bell  as  the  Buddhist  pil 
grims  carry.  Shall  I  have  it  ?  " 

"  You  shall  have  the  little  bell,  —  and  anything 
else  that  you  wish." 


Of  a  Promise  Broken          17 

"  I  do  not  wish  for  anything  else,"  she  said. 
.  .  .  "  My  dear  one,  you  have  been  very  good 
to  me  always.  Now  I  can  die  happy." 

Then  she  closed  her  eyes  and  died — as  easily 
as  a  tired  child  falls  asleep.  She  looked  beautiful 
when  she  was  dead ;  and  there  was  a  smile  upon 
her  face. 

She  was  buried  in  the  garden,  under  the  shade 
of  the  trees  that  she  loved ;  and  a  small  bell  was 
buried  with  her.  Above  the  grave  was  erected  a 
handsome  monument,  decorated  with  the  family 
crest,  and  bearing  the  kaimyo  :  —  "  Great  Elder 
Sister,  Luminous-Shadow-of-the-Plum-Flower- 
Chamber,  dwelling  in  the  Mansion  of  the  Great 
Sea  of  Compassion." 


But,  within  a  twelve-month  after  the  death  of 
his  wife,  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  samurai 
began  to  insist  that  he  should  marry  again.  "  You 
are  still  a  young  man,"  they  said,  "  and  an  only 
son ;  and  you  have  no  children.  It  is  the  duty  of 
a  samurai  to  marry.  If  you  die  childless,  who 
will  there  be  to  make  the  offerings  and  to  re 
member  the  ancestors  ? " 

2 


18  Japanese  Miscellany 

By  many  such  representations  he  was  at  last 
persuaded  to  marry  again.  The  bride  was  only 
seventeen  years  old ;  and  he  found  that  he  could 
love  her  dearly,  notwithstanding  the  dumb 
reproach  of  the  tomb  in  the  garden. 


II 


NOTHING  took  place  to  disturb  the  happiness  of 
the  young  wife  until  the  seventh  day  after  the 
wedding,  —  when  her  husband  was  ordered  to 
undertake  certain  duties  requiring  his  presence  at 
the  castle  by  night.  On  the  first  evening  that  he 
was  obliged  to  leave  her  alone,  she  felt  uneasy  in 
a  way  that  she  could  not  explain,  — vaguely 
afraid  without  knowing  why.  When  she  went 
to  bed  she  could  not  sleep.  There  was  a  strange 
oppression  in  the  air,  —  an  indefinable  heaviness 
like  that  which  sometimes  precedes  the  coming 
of  a  storm. 

About  the  Hour  of  the  Ox  she  heard,  outside 
in  the  night,  the  clanging  of  a  bell,— a  Buddhist 
pilgrim's  bell ;  —  and  she  wondered  what  pilgrim 
could  be  passing  through  the  samurai  quarter  at 
such  a  time.  Presently,  after  a  pause,  the  bell 


Of  a  Promise  Broken          19 

sounded  much  nearer.  Evidently  the  pilgrim  was 
approaching  the  house ;  —  but  why  approaching 
from  the  rear,  where  no  road  was  ?  .  .  .  Sud 
denly  the  dogs  began  to  whine  and  howl  in  an 
unusual  and  horrible  way ;  —  and  a  fear  came 
upon  her  like  the  fear  of  dreams.  .  .  .  That  ring 
ing  was  certainly  in  the  garden.  .  .  .  She  tried 
to  get  up  to  waken  a  servant.  But  she  found 
that  she  could  not  rise,  —  could  not  move, — 
could  not  call.  .  .  .  And  nearer,  and  still  more 
near,  came  the  clang  of  the  bell ;  —  and  oh  !  how 
the  dogs  howled !  .  .  .  Then,  lightly  as  a  shadow 
steals,  there  glided  into  the  room  a  Woman,  — 
though  every  door  stood  fast,  and  every  screen 
unmoved,  —  a  Woman  robed  in  a  grave-robe,  and 
carrying  a  pilgrim's  bell.  Eyeless  she  came, — 
because  she  had  long  been  dead ;  —  and  her  loos 
ened  hair  streamed  down  about  her  face ;  —  and 
she  looked  without  eyes  through  the  tangle  of 
it,  and  spoke  without  a  tongue :  — 

"  Not  in  this  house,  — not  in  this  house  shall 
you  stay !  Here  I  am  mistress  still.  You  shall 
go ;  and  you  shall  tell  to  none  the  reason  of  your 
going.  If  you  tell  HIM,  I  will  tear  you  into 
pieces  !  " 


20  Japanese  Miscellany 

So  speaking,  the  haunter  vanished.  The  bride 
became  senseless  with  fear.  Until  the  dawn  she 
so  remained. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  cheery  light  of  day,  she 
doubted  the  reality  of  what  she  had  seen  and 
heard.  The  memory  of  the  warning  still  weighed 
upon  her  so  heavily  that  she  did  not  dare  to 
speak  of  the  vision,  either  to  her  husband  or  to 
any  one  else ;  but  she  was  almost  able  to  persuade 
herself  that  she  had  only  dreamed  an  ugly  dream, 
which  had  made  her  ill. 

On  the  following  night,  however,  she  could 
not  doubt.  Again,  at  the  Hour  of  the  Ox,  the 
dogs  began  to  howl  and  whine ;  —  again  the  bell 
resounded,  —  approaching  slowly  from  the  gar 
den  ;  —  again  the  listener  vainly  strove  to  rise  and 
call ;  —  again  the  dead  came  into  the  room,  and 
hissed,  — 

"  You  shall  go ;  and  you  shall  tell  to  no 
one  why  you  must  go !  If  you  even  whisper  it 
to  HIM,  I  will  tear  you  in  pieces  /  "  .  .  . 

This  time  the  haunter  came  close  to  the  couch, 
—  and  bent  and  muttered  and  mowed  above 
it.  , 


Of  a  Promise  Broken          21 

Next  morning,  when  the  samurai  returned  from 
the  castle,  his  young  wife  prostrated  herself  be 
fore  him  in  supplication :  — 

"  I  beseech  you,"  she  said,  "  to  pardon  my  in 
gratitude  and  my  great  rudeness  in  thus  address 
ing  you :  but  I  want  to  go  home ;  —  I  want  to  go 
away  at  once." 

"  Are  you  not  happy  here  ?  "  he  asked,  in  sin 
cere  surprise.  "  Has  any  one  dared  to  be  unkind 
to  you  during  my  absence  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  that  — "  she  answered,  sobbing. 
"  Everybody  here  has  been  only  too  good  to  me. 
.  .  .  But  I  cannot  continue  to  be  your  wife ;  — 
I  must  go  away.  ..." 

"  My  dear,"  he  exclaimed,  in  great  astonish 
ment,  "it  is  very  painful  to  know  that  you  have 
had  any  cause  for  unhappiness  in  this  house.  But 
I  cannot  even  imagine  why  you  should  want  to 
go  away  —  unless  somebody  has  been  very  un 
kind  to  you.  .  .  .  Surely  you  do  not  mean  that 
you  wish  for  a  divorce  ? " 

She  responded,  trembling  and  weeping,  — 

"  If  you  do  not  give  me  a  divorce,  I  shall 
die!" 

He  remained  for  a  little  while  silent,  —  vainly 
trying  to  think  of  some  cause  for  this  amazing 


22  Japanese  Miscellany 

declaration.  Then,  without  betraying  any  emo 
tion,  he  made  answer :  - 

"  To  send  you  back  now  to  your  people,  with- 
out  any  fault  on  your  part,  would  seem  a  shame 
ful  act.  If  you  will  tell  me  a  good  reason  for 
your  wish,  —  any  reason  that  will  enable  me  to 
explain  matters  honorably,  —  I  can  write  you  a 
divorce.  But  unless  you  give  me  a  reason,  a 
good  reason,  I  will  not  divorce  you, —  for  the 
honor  of  our  house  must  be  kept  above 
reproach." 

And  then  she  felt  obliged  to  speak ;  and  she 
told  him  everything,  —  adding,  in  an  agony  of 
terror,  — 

"  Now  that  I  have  let  you  know,  she  will  kill 
me !  —  she  will  kill  me !  .  .  ." 

Although  a  brave  man,  and  little  inclined  to 
believe  in  phantoms,  the  samurai  was  more  than 
startled  for  the  moment.  But  a  simple  and  nat 
ural  explanation  of  the  matter  soon  presented 
itself  to  his  mind. 

"  My  dear/'  he  said,  "  you  are  now  very  ner 
vous  ;  and  I  fear  that  some  one  has  been  telling 
you  foolish  stories.  I  cannot  give  you  a  divorce 
merely  because  you  have  had  a  bad  dream  in  this 
house.  But  I  am  very  sorry  indeed  that  you 


Of  a  Promise  Broken  2? 

should  have  been  suffering  in  such  a  way  during 
my  absence.  To-night,  also,  I  must  be  at  the 
castle ;  but  you  shall  not  be  alone.  I  will  order 
two  of  the  retainers  to  keep  watch  in  your  room ; 
and  you  will  be  able  to  sleep  in  peace.  They  are 
good  men ;  and  they  will  take  all  possible  care  of 
you." 

Then  he  spoke  to  her  so  considerately  and  so 
affectionately  that  she  became  almost  ashamed  of 
her  terrors,  and  resolved  to  remain  in  the  house. 

Ill 

THE  two  retainers  left  in  charge  of  the  young  wife 
were  big,  brave,  simple-hearted  men,  —  experi 
enced  guardians  of  women  and  children.  They 
told  the  bride  pleasant  stories  to  keep  her  cheer 
ful.  She  talked  with  them  a  long  time,  laughed 
at  their  good-humored  fun,  and  almost  forgot 
her  fears.  When  at  last  she  lay  down  to  sleep, 
the  men-at-arms  took  their  places  in  a  corner  of 
the  room,  behind  a  screen,  and  began  a  game  of 
go,1  —  speaking  only  in  whispers,  that  she  might 
not  be  disturbed.  She  slept  like  an  infant. 

1  A  game  resembling  draughts,  but  much  more  com 
plicated. 


24  Japanese  Miscellany 

But  again  at  the  Hour  of  the  Ox  she  awoke 
with  a  moan  of  terror,  —  for  she  heard  the  bell ! 
...  It  was  already  near,  and  was  coming  nearer. 
She  started  up ;  she  screamed ;  —  but  in  the  room 
there  was  no  stir,  —  only  a  silence  as  of  death,  — 
a  silence  growing,  —  a  silence  thickening.  She 
rushed  to  the  men-at-arms :  they  sat  before  their 
checker-table,  —  motionless,  —  each  staring  at  the 
other  with  fixed  eyes.  She  shrieked  to  them : 
she  shook  them :  they  remained  as  if  frozen.  .  .  . 

Afterwards  they  said  that  they  had  heard  the 
bell,  —  heard  also  the  cry  of  the  bride,  —  even 
felt  her  try  to  shake  them  into  wakef ulness ;  — 
and  that,  nevertheless,  they  had  not  been  able  to 
move  or  speak.  From  the  same  moment  they 
had  ceased  to  hear  or  to  see :  a  black  sleep  had 
seized  upon  them. 

Entering  his  bridal-chamber  at  dawn,  the  samu 
rai  beheld,  by  the  light  of  a  dying  lamp,  the 
headless  body  of  his  young  wife,  lying  in  a  pool 
of  blood.  Still  squatting  before  their  unfinished 
game,  the  two  retainers  slept.  At  their  master's 
cry  they  sprang  up,  and  stupidly  stared  at  the 
horror  on  the  floor.  , 


Of  a  Promise  Broken          2? 

The  head  was  nowhere  to  be  seen ;  —  and  the 
hideous  wound  showed  that  it  had  not  been  cut 
off,  but  torn  off.  A  trail  of  blood  led  from  the 
chamber  to  an  angle  of  the  outer  gallery,  where 
the  storm -doors  appeared  to  have  been  riven 
apart.  The  three  men  followed  that  trail  into  the 
garden,  —  over  reaches  of  grass,  —  over  spaces  of 
sand,  —  along  the  bank  of  an  iris- bordered  pond, 
-  under  heavy  shadowings  of  cedar  and  bamboo. 
And  suddenly,  at  a  turn,  they  found  themselves 
face  to  face  with  a  nightmare-thing  that  chippered 
like  a  bat :  the  figure  of  the  long-buried  woman, 
erect  before  her  tomb,  —  in  one  hand  clutching 
a  bell,  in  the  other  the  dripping  head.  .  .  .  For  a 
moment  the  three  stood  numbed.  Then  one  of  the 
men-at-arms,  uttering  a  Buddhist  invocation,  drew, 
and  struck  at  the  shape.  Instantly  it  crumbled 
down  upon  the  soil,  — an  empty  scattering  of 
grave-rags,  bones,  and  hair ;  —  and  the  bell  rolled 
clanking  out  of  the  ruin.  But  the  fleshless  right 
hand,  though  parted  from  the  wrist,  still  writhed ; 

—  and  its  fingers  still  gripped  at  the  bleeding  head, 

—  and  tore,  and  mangled,  —  as  the  claws  of  the 
yellow  crab  cling  fast  to  a  fallen  fruit.  .  .  . 


26  Japanese  Miscellany 

["That  is  a  wicked  story,"  I  said  to  the  friend 
who  had  related  it.  "  The  vengeance  of  the  dead 
—  if  taken  at  all  —  should  have  been  taken  upon 
the  man." 

"  Men  think  so,"  he  made  answer.  "  But  that 
is  not  the  way  that  a  woman  feels.  .  .  ." 

He  was  right.  ] 


Before  the  Supreme  Court 


Before  the  Supreme  Court 


THE  great  Buddhist  priest,  Mongaku  Shonin, 
says  in  his  book  Kyo-gyo  Shin-sho  :  — 
"  Many  of  those  gods  whom  the  people 
worship  are  unjust  gods  [jajin] :  therefore  such 
gods  are  not  worshipped  by  persons  who  revere 
the  Three  Precious  Things.1  And  even  persons 
who  obtain  favors  from  those  gods,  in  answer 
to  prayer,  usually  find  at  a  later  day  that  such 
favors  cause  misfortune."  This  truth  is  well 
exemplified  by  a  story  recorded  in  the  book 
Nihon-Rei-Iki. 

During  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Shomu  there 
lived  in  the  district  called  Yamadagori,  in  the  prov 
ince  of  Sanuki,  a  man  named  Fushiki  no  Shin. 


1  Sambo  (Ratnatraya) ,  —  the  Buddha,  the  Doctrine,  and 
the  Priesthood. 

2  He  reigned  during  the  second  quarter  of  the  eighth 
century. 

29 


30  Japanese  Miscellany 

He  had  but  one  child,  a  daughter  called  Kinume'.1 
Kinume  was  a  fine-looking  girl,  and  very  strong ; 
but,  shortly  after  she  had  reached  her  eighteenth 
year,  a  dangerous  sickness  began  to  prevail  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  she  was  attacked  by  it. 
Her  parents  and  friends  then  made  offerings  on 
her  behalf  to  a  certain  Pest- God,  and  performed 
great  austerities  in  honor  of  the  Pest-God,— 
beseeching  him  to  save  her. 

After  having  lain  in  a  stupor  for  several  days, 
the  sick  girl  one  evening  came  to  herself,  and  told 
her  parents  a  dream  that  she  had  dreamed.  She 
had  dreamed  that  the  Pest-God  appeared  to  her, 
and  said  :  —  "  Your  people  have  been  praying  to 
me  so  earnestly  for  you,  and  have  been  worship 
ping  me  so  devoutly,  that  I  really  wish  to  save 
you.  But  I  cannot  do  so  except  by  giving  you 
the  life  of  some  other  person.  Do  you  happen  to 
know  of  any  other  girl  who  has  the  same  name 
as  yours  ?  "  "  I  remember,"  answered  Kinume, 
"  that  in  Utarigori  there  is  a  girl  whose  name  is 
the  same  as  mine."  "  Point  her  out  to  me,"  the 
God  said,  touching  the  sleeper ;  —  and  at  the  touch 
she  rose  into  the  air  with  him  ;  and,  in  less  than  a 


1  "Golden  Plum-Flower." 


Before  the  Supreme  Court       31 

second,  the  two  were  in  front  of  the  house  of 
the  other  Kinume,  in  Utarigori.  It  was  night ; 
but  the  family  had  not  yet  gone  to  bed,  and  the 
daughter  was  washing  something  in  the  kitchen. 
"  That  is  the  girl,"  said  Kinume  of  Yamadagori. 
The  Pest- God  took  out  of  a  scarlet  bag  at  his 
girdle  a  long  sharp  instrument  shaped  like  a  chisel ; 
and,  entering  the  house,  he  drove  the  sharp  in 
strument  into  the  forehead  of  Kinume  of  Utari 
gori.  Then  Kinume  of  Utarigori  sank  to  the 
floor  in  great  agony;  and  Kinume  of  Yamada 
gori  awoke,  and  related  the  dream. 

Immediately  after  having  related  it,  however, 
she  again  fell  into  a  stupor.  For  three  days  she 
remained  without  knowledge  of  the  world  ;  and 
her  parents  began  to  despair  of  her  recovery. 
Then  once  more  she  opened  her  eyes,  and  spoke. 
But  almost  in  the  same  moment  she  rose  from 
her  bed,  looked  wildly  about  the  room,  and 
rushed  out  of  the  house,  exclaiming:  —  "This  is 
not  my  home !  —  you  are  not  my  parents !  "  .  .  . 

Something  strange  had  happened. 

Kinume  of  Utarigori  had  died  after  having 
been  stricken  by  the  Pest-God.  Her  parents  sor 
rowed  greatly;  and  the  priests  of  their  parish- 


32  Japanese  Miscellany 

temple  performed  a  Buddhist  service  for  her ;  and 
her  body  was  burned  in  a  field  outside  the  village. 
Then  her  spirit  descended  to  the  Meido,  the  world 
of  the  dead,  and  was  summoned  to  the  tribunal 
of  Emma-Dai-O,  —  the  King  and  Judge  of  Souls. 
But  no  sooner  had  the  Judge  cast  eyes  upon  her 
than  he  exclaimed  :  —  "  This  girl  is  the  Utarigori- 
Kinume :  she  ought  not  to  have  been  brought 
here  so  soon!  Send  her  back  at  once  to  the 
Shaba-world,1  and  fetch  me  the  other  Kinume,— 
the  Yamadagori  girl !  "  Then  the  spirit  of  Kin 
ume  of  Utarigori  made  moan  before  King  Emma, 
and  complained,  saying :  — "  Great  Lord,  it  is 
more  than  three  days  since  I  died ;  and  by  this 
time  my  body  must  have  been  burned;  and,  if 
you  now  send  me  back  to  the  Shaba-world,  what 
shall  I  do  ?  My  body  has  been  changed  into  ashes 
and  smoke ;  —  I  shall  have  no  body !  "  "  Do  not 
be  anxious,"  the  terrible  King  answered  ;  —  "  1  am 
going  to  give  you  the  body  of  Kinume  of  Yama 
dagori,  —  for  her  spirit  must  be  brought  here  to 
me  at  once.  You  need  not  fret  about  the  burn 
ing  of  your  body :  you  will  find  the  body  of  the 

1  The  Shaba-world  (Sahaloka),  in  common  parlance, 
signifies  the  world  of  men,  —  the  region  of  human  ex 
istence. 


Before  the  Supreme  Court       ?.? 

other  Kinume  very  much  better."  And  scarcely 
had  he  finished  speaking  when  the  spirit  of  Kin 
ume  of  Utarigori  revived  in  the  body  of  Kinume 
of  Yamadagori. 

Now  when  the  parents  of  Kinume  of  Yamada 
gori  saw  their  sick  girl  spring  up  and  run  away, 
exclaiming,  "  This  is  not  my  home !  "  —  they  im 
agined  her  to  be  out  of  her  mind,  and  they  ran 
after  her,  calling  out :  — "  Kinume,  where  are 
you  going  ?  —  wait  for  a  moment,  child  !  you  are 
much  too  ill  to  run  like  that !  "  But  she  escaped 
from  them,  and  ran  on  without  stopping,  until 
she  came  to  Utarigori,  and  to  the  house  of  the 
family  of  the  dead  Kinume.  There  she  entered, 
and  found  the  old  people ;  and  she  saluted  them, 
crying :  —  "  Oh,  how  pleasant  to  be  again  at 
home !  ...  Is  it  well  with  you,  dear  parents  ?  " 
They  did  not  recognize  her,  and  thought  her 
mad ;  but  the  mother  spoke  to  her  kindly,  ask 
ing: — " Where  have  you  come  from,  child?" 
"  From  the  Meido  I  have  come,"  Kinume  made 
answer.  "I  am  your  own  child,  Kinume,  re 
turned  to  you  from  the  dead.  But  I  have  now 
another  body,  mother."  And  she  related  all  that 
had  happened ;  and  the  old  people  wondered  ex- 

3 


34  Japanese  Miscellany 

ceedingly,  yet  did  not  know  what  to  believe. 
Presently  the  parents  of  Kinume  of  Yamadagori 
also  came  to  the  house,  looking  for  their 
daughter ;  and  then  the  two  fathers  and  the  two 
mothers  consulted  together,  and  made  the  girl  re 
peat  her  story,  and  questioned  her  over  and  over 
again.  But  she  replied  to  every  question  in  such 
a  way  that  the  truth  of  her  statements  could  not  be 
doubted.  At  last  the  mother  of  the  Yamadagori 
Kinume,  after  having  related  the  strange  dream 
which  her  sick  daughter  had  dreamed,  said  to  the 
parents  of  the  Utarigori  Kinume :  —  "  We  are 
satisfied  that  the  spirit  of  this  girl  is  the  spirit  of 
your  child.  But  you  know  that  her  body  is  the 
body  of  our  child ;  and  we  think  that  both  fami 
lies  ought  to  have  a  share  in  her.  So  we  would 
ask  you  to  agree  that  she  be  considered  hence 
forward  the  daughter  of  both  families."  To  this 
proposal  the  Utarigori  parents  joyfully  consented  ; 
and  it  is  recorded  that  in  after-time  Kinume  in 
herited  the  property  of  both  households. 

"  This  story,"  says  the  Japanese  author  of  the 
Buhkyo  Hyahkwa  Zensho,  "  may  be  found  on  the 
left  side  of  the  twelfth  sheet  of  the  first  volume 
of  the  Nibon-Rei-IM." 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji1 


DURING  the  period  of  Tensho 2  there  lived, 
in  one  of  the  northern  districts  of  Kyoto, 
an  old  man  whom  the  people  called 
Kwashin  Koji.  He  wore  a  long  white  beard,  and 
was  always  dressed  like  a  Shinto  priest ;  but  he 
made  his  living  by  exhibiting  Buddhist  pictures 
and  by  preaching  Buddhist  doctrine.  Every  fine 
day  he  used  to  go  to  the  grounds  of  the  temple 
Gion,  and  there  suspend  to  some  tree  a  large 
kakemono  on  which  were  depicted  the  punish 
ments  of  the  various  hells.  This  kakemono  was 
so  wonderfully  painted  that  all  things  represented 
in  it  seemed  to  be  real ;  and  the  old  man  would 

1  Related  in  the  curious  old  book  Yaso-Kidan. 

2  The  period  of  Tensho  lasted   from  1573   to   1591 
(A.  D.).    The  death  of  the  great  captain,  Oda  Nobunaga, 
who  figures  in  this  story,  occurred  in  1582. 

37 


38  Japanese  Miscellany 

discourse  to  the  people  crowding  to  see  it,  and 
explain  to  them  the  Law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  — 
pointing  out  with  a  Buddhist  staff  [nyoi],  which 
he  always  carried,  each  detail  of  the  different  tor 
ments,  and  exhorting  everybody  to  follow  the 
teachings  of  the  Buddha.  Multitudes  assembled 
to  look  at  the  picture  and  to  hear  the  old  man 
preach  about  it ;  and  sometimes  the  mat  which 
he  spread  before  him,  to  receive  contributions, 
was  covered  out  of  sight  by  the  heaping  of  coins 
thrown  upon  it. 

Oda  Nobunaga  was  at  that  time  ruler  of  Kyoto 
and  of  the  surrounding  provinces.  One  of  his 
retainers,  named  Arakawa,  during  a  visit  to  the 
temple  of  Gion,  happened  to  see  the  picture  be 
ing  displayed  there ;  and  he  afterwards  talked 
about  it  at  the  palace.  Nobunaga  was  inter 
ested  by  Arakawa's  description,  and  sent  orders 
to  Kwashin  Koji  to  come  at  once  to  the  palace, 
and  to  bring  the  picture  with  him. 

When  Nobunaga  saw  the  kake'mono  he  was 
not  able  to  conceal  his  surprise  at  the  vividness  of 
the  work  :  the  demons  and  the  tortured  spirits 
actually  appeared  to  move  before  his  eyes;  and 
he  heard  voices  crying  out  of  the  picture ;  and 
the  blood  there  represented  seemed  to  be  really 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      39 

flowing,  —  so  that  he  could  not  help  putting  out 
his  finger  to  feel  if  the  painting  was  wet.  But 
the  finger  was  not  stained,— for  the  paper  proved 
to  be  perfectly  dry.  More  and  more  astonished, 
Nobunaga  asked  who  had  made  the  wonderful 
picture.  Kwashin  Koji  answered  that  it  had  been 
painted  by  the  famous  Oguri  Sotan, l  —  after 
he  had  performed  the  rite  of  self -purification 
every  day  for  a  hundred  days,  and  practised 
great  austerities,  and  made  earnest  prayer  for 
inspiration  to  the  divine  Kwannon  of  Kiyomidzu 
Temple. 

Observing  Nobunaga's  evident  desire  to  possess 
the  kakemono,  Arakawa  then  asked  Kwashin  Koji 
whether  he  would  "  offer  it  up,"  as  a  gift  to  the 
great  lord.  But  the  old  man  boldly  answered:  - 
"  This  painting  is  the  only  object  of  value  that  I 
possess ;  and  I  am  able  to  make  a  little  money  by 
showing  it  to  the  people.  Were  I  now  to  present 
this  picture  to  the  lord,  I  should  deprive  myself 
of  the  only  means  which  I  have  to  make  my  liv 
ing.  However,  if  the  lord  be  greatly  desirous  to 


1  Oguri  Sotan  was  a  great  religious  artist  who  flourished 
in  the  early  .part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  He  became  a 
Buddhist  priest  in  the  later  years  of  his  life. 


40  Japanese  Miscellany 

possess  it,  let  him  pay  me  for  it  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  ryo  of  gold.  With  that  amount  of 
money  I  should  be  able  to  engage  in  some  profit 
able  business.  Otherwise,  I  must  refuse  to  give 
up  the  picture." 

Nobunaga  did  not  seem  to  be  pleased  at  this 
reply ;  and  he  remained  silent.  Arakawa  pres 
ently  whispered  something  in  the  ear  of  the  lord, 
who  nodded  assent ;  and  Kwashin  Koji  was  then 
dismissed,  with  a  small  present  of  money. 

But  when  the  old  man  left  the  palace,  Arakawa 
secretly  followed  him,  —  hoping  for  a  chance  to 
get  the  picture  by  foul  means.  The  chance 
came  ;  for  Kwashin  Koji  happened  to  take  a  road 
leading  directly  to  the  heights  beyond  the  town. 
When  he  reached  a  certain  lonesome  spot  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills,  where  the  road  made  a  sudden 
turn,  he  was  seized  by  Arakawa,  who  said  to 
him  :  —  "  Why  were  you  so  greedy  as  to  ask  a 
hundred  ryo  of  gold  for  that  picture  ?  Instead  of 
a  hundred  ryo  of  gold,  I  am  now  going  to  give 
you  one  piece  of  iron  three  feet  long."  Then 
Arakawa  drew  his  sword,  and  killed  the  old 
man,  and  took  the  picture. 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      41 

The  next  day  Arakawa  presented  the  kake 
mono—still  wrapped  up  as  Kwashin  Koji  had 
wrapped  it  before  leaving  the  palace  —  to  Oda 
Nobunaga,  who  ordered  it  to  be  hung  up  forth 
with.  But,  when  it  was  unrolled,  both  Nobu 
naga  and  his  retainer  were  astounded  to  find  that 
there  was  no  picture  at  all  —  nothing  but  a  blank 
surface.  Arakawa  could  not  explain  how  the 
original  painting  had  disappeared  ;  and  as  he  had 
been  guilty — whether  willingly  or  unwillingly — of 
deceiving  his  master,  it  was  decided  that  he  should 
be  punished.  Accordingly  he  was  sentenced  to 
remain  in  confinement  for  a  considerable  time. 

Scarcely  had  Arakawa  completed  his  term  of 
imprisonment,  when  news  was  brought  to  him 
that  Kwashin  Koji  was  exhibiting  the  famous  pic 
ture  in  the  grounds  of  Kitano  Temple.  Arakawa 
could  hardly  believe  his  ears ;  but  the  informa 
tion  inspired  him  with  a  vague  hope  that  he 
might  be  able,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  secure 
the  kakemono,  and  thereby  redeem  his  recent 
fault.  So  he  quickly  assembled  some  of  his  fol 
lowers,  and  hurried  to  the  temple ;  but  when  he 
reached  it  he  was  told  that  Kwashin  Koji  had 
gone  away. 


42  Japanese  Miscellany 

Several  days  later,  word  was  brought  to  Ara- 
kawa  that  Kwashin  Koji  was  exhibiting  the  pic 
ture  at  Kiyomidzu  Temple,  and  preaching  about 
it  to  an  immense  crowd.  Arakawa  made  all 
haste  to  Kiyomidzu  ;  but  he  arrived  there  only  in 
time  to  see  the  crowd  disperse,  —  for  Kwashin 
Koji  had  again  disappeared. 

At  last  one  day  Arakawa  unexpectedly  caught 
sight  of  Kwashin  Koji  in  a  wine-shop,  and  there 
captured  him.  The  old  man  only  laughed  good- 
humoredly  on  finding  himself  seized,  and  said :  — 
"  I  will  go  with  you;  but  please  wait  until  I  drink 
a  little  wine."  To  this  request  Arakawa  made  no 
objection ;  and  Kwashin  Koji  thereupon  drank,  to 
the  amazement  of  the  bystanders,  twelve  bowls 
of  wine.  After  drinking  the  twelfth  he  declared 
himself  satisfied ;  and  Arakawa  ordered  him  to 
be  bound  with  a  rope,  and  taken  to  Nobunaga's 
residence. 

In  the  court  of  the  palace  Kwashin  Koji  was 
examined  at  once  by  the  Chief  Officer,  and 
sternly  reprimanded.  Finally  the  Chief  Officer 
said  to  him  :  —  "  It  is  evident  that  you  have  been 
deluding  people  by  magical  practices ;  and  for 
this  offence  alone  you  deserve  to  be  heavily  pun 
ished.  However,  if  you  will  now  respectfully 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      4? 

offer  up  that  picture  to  the  Lord  Nobunaga,  we 
shall  this  time  overlook  your  fault.  Otherwise 
we  shall  certainly  inflict  upon  you  a  very  severe 
punishment." 

At  this  menace  Kwashin  Koji  laughed  in  a  be 
wildered  way,  and  exclaimed  :  —  "It  is  not  I  who 
have  been  guilty  of  deluding  people."  Then, 
turning  to  Arakawa,  he  cried  out :  —  "  You  are 
the  deceiver !  You  wanted  to  flatter  the  lord  by 
giving  him  that  picture ;  and  you  tried  to  kill  me 
in  order  to  steal  it.  Surely,  if  there  be  any  such 
thing  as  crime,  that  was  a  crime !  As  luck  would 
have  it,  you  did  not  succeed  in  killing  me  ;  but  if 
you  had  succeeded,  as  you  wished,  what  would 
you  have  been  able  to  plead  in  excuse  for  such  an 
act  ?  You  stole  the  picture,  at  all  events.  The 
picture  that  I  now  have  is  only  a  copy.  And 
after  you  stole  the  picture,  you  changed  your 
mind  about  giving  it  to  Lord  Nobunaga ;  and 
you  devised  a  plan  to  keep  it  for  yourself.  So 
you  gave  a  blank  kakemono  to  Lord  Nobunaga  ; 
and,  in  order  to  conceal  your  secret  act  and  pur 
pose,  you  pretended  that  I  had  deceived  you  by 
substituting  a  blank  kakemono  for  the  real  one. 
Where  the  real  picture  now  is,  I  do  not  know. 
You  probably  do." 


44  Japanese  Miscellany 

At  these  words  Arakawa  became  so  angry  that 
he  rushed  towards  the  prisoner,  and  would  have 
struck  him  but  for  the  interference  of  the  guards. 
And  this  sudden  outburst  of  anger  caused  the 
Chief  Officer  to  suspect  that  Arakawa  was  not 
altogether  innocent.  He  ordered  Kwashin  Koji  to 
be  taken  to  prison  for  the  time  being ;  and  he 
then  proceeded  to  question  Arakawa  closely. 
Now  Arakawa  was  naturally  slow  of  speech  ;  and 
on  this  occasion,  being  greatly  excited,  he  could 
scarcely  speak  at  all ;  and  he  stammered,  and 
contradicted  himself,  and  betrayed  every  sign  of 
guilt.  Then  the  Chief  Officer  ordered  that  Ara 
kawa  should  be  beaten  with  a  stick  until  he  told 
the  truth.  But  it  was  not  possible  for  him  even 
to  seem  to  tell  the  truth.  So  he  was  beaten  with 
a  bamboo  until  his  senses  departed  from  him, 
and  he  lay  as  if  dead. 

Kwashin  Kofi  was  told  in  the  prison  about 
what  had  happened  to  Arakawa ;  and  he  laughed. 
But  after  a  little  while  he  said  to  the  jailer :  — 
"  Listen !  That  fellow  Arakawa  really  behaved 
like  a  rascal ;  and  I  purposely  brought  this  pun 
ishment  upon  him,  in  order  to  correct  his  evil 
inclinations.  But  now  please  say  to  the  Chief 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      4? 

Officer  that  Arakawa  must  have  been  ignorant  of 
the  truth,  and  that  I  shall  explain  the  whole 
matter  satisfactorily." 

Then  Kwashin  Koji  was  again  taken  before 
the  Chief  Officer,  to  whom  he  made  the  following 
declaration  :  —  "  In  any  picture  of  real  excellence 
there  must  be  a  ghost ;  and  such  a  picture,  hav 
ing  a  will  of  its  own,  may  refuse  to  be  separated 
from  the  person  who  gave  it  life,  or  even  from 
its  rightful  owner.  There  are  many  stories  to 
prove  that  really  great  pictures  have  souls.  It  is 
well  known  that  some  sparrows,  painted  upon  a 
sliding-screen  [fusuma]  by  Hogen  Yenshin,  once 
flew  away,  leaving  blank  the  spaces  which  they 
had  occupied  upon  the  surface.  Also  it  is  well 
known  that  a  horse,  painted  upon  a  certain 
kakemono,  used  to  go  out  at  night  to  eat  grass. 
Now,  in  this  present  case,  I  believe  the  truth  to 
be  that,  inasmuch  as  the  Lord  Nobunaga  never 
became  the  rightful  owner  of  my  kakemono,  the 
picture  voluntarily  vanished  from  the  paper  when 
it  was  unrolled  in  his  presence.  But  if  you  will 
give  me  the  price  that  I  first  asked, — one  hun 
dred  ry5  of  gold,  —  I  think  that  the  painting 
will  then  reappear,  of  its  own  accord,  upon  the 
now  blank  paper.  At  all  events,  let  us  try! 


46  Japanese  Miscellany 

There  is  nothing  to  risk,  —  since,  if  the  picture 
•  does  not  reappear,  I  shall  at  once  return  the 
money." 

On  hearing  of  these  strange  assertions,  Nobu- 
naga  ordered  the  hundred  ryo  to  be  paid,  and 
came  in  person  to  observe  the  result.  The  kake 
mono  was  then  unrolled  before  him ;  and,  to  the 
amazement  of  all  present,  the  painting  reappeared, 
with  all  its  details.  But  the  colors  seemed  to 
have  faded  a  little ;  and  the  figures  of  the  souls 
and  the  demons  did  not  look  really  alive,  as  be 
fore.  Perceiving  this  difference,  the  lord  asked 
Kwashin  Koji  to  explain  the  reason  of  it;  and 
Kwashin  Koji  replied :  — "  The  value  of  the 
painting,  as  you  first  saw  it,  was  the  value  of  a 
painting  beyond  all  price.  But  the  value  of  the 
painting,  as  you  now  see  it,  represents  exactly 
what  you  paid  for  it,  —  one  hundred  ryo  of 
gold.  .  .  .  How  could  it  be  otherwise  ? "  On 
hearing  this  answer,  all  present  felt  that  it  would 
be  worse  than  useless  to  oppose  the  old  man  any 
further.  He  was  immediately  set  at  liberty ;  and 
Arakawa  was  also  liberated,  as  he  had  more  than 
expiated  his  fault  by  the  punishment  which  he 
had  undergone. 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      47 

Now  Arakawa  had  a  younger  brother  named 
Buichi,  —  also  a  retainer  in  the  service  of  Nobu- 
naga.  Buichi  was  furiously  angry  because  Ara 
kawa  had  been  beaten  and  imprisoned ;  and  he 
resolved  to  kill  Kwashin  Koji.  Kwashin  Koji 
no  sooner  found  himself  again  at  liberty  than  he 
went  straight  to  a  wine-shop,  and  called  for  wine. 
Buichi  rushed  after  him  into  the  shop,  struck  him 
down,  and  cut  off  his  head.  Then,  taking  the 
hundred  ryo  that  had  been  paid  to  the  old  man, 
Buichi  wrapped  up  the  head  and  the  gold  together 
in  a  cloth,  and  hurried  home  to  show  them  to 
Arakawa.  But  when  he  unfastened  the  cloth  he 
found,  instead  of  the  head,  only  an  empty  wine- 
gourd,  and  only  a  lump  of  filth  instead  of  the 
gold.  .  .  .  And  the  bewilderment  of  the  brothers 
was  presently  increased  by  the  information  that 
the  headless  body  had  disappeared  from  the  wine 
shop,  —  none  could  say  how  or  when. 

Nothing  more  was  heard  of  Kwashin  Koji 
until  about  a  month  later,  when  a  drunken  man 
was  found  one  evening  asleep  in  the  gateway  of 
Lord  Nobunaga's  palace,  and  snoring  so  loud  that 
every  snore  sounded  like  the  rumbling  of  distant 
thunder.  A  retainer  discovered  that  the  drunk- 


48  Japanese  Miscellany 

ard  was  Kwashin  Koji.  For  this  insolent  offence, 
the  old  fellow  was  at  once  seized  and  thrown  into 
the  prison.  But  he  did  not  awake ;  and  in  the 
prison  he  continued  to  sleep  without  interruption 
for  ten  days  and  ten  nights,  —  all  the  while  snor 
ing  so  that  the  sound  could  be  heard  to  a  great 
distance. 

About  this  time,  the  Lord  Nobunaga  came  to 
his  death  through  the  treachery  of  one  of  his 
captains,  Akechi  Mitsuhide,  who  thereupon 
usurped  rule.  But  Mitsuhide's  power  endured 
only  for  a  period  of  twelve  days. 

Now  when  Mitsuhide  became  master  of  Kyoto, 
he  was  told  of  the  case  of  Kwashin  Koji ;  and 
he  ordered  that  the  prisoner  should  be  brought 
before  him.  Accordingly  Kwashin  Koji  was 
summoned  into  the  presence  of  the  new  lord ;  but 
Mitsuhide  spoke  to  him  kindly,  treated  him  as  a 
guest,  and  commanded  that  a  good  dinner  should 
be  served  to  him.  When  the  old  man  had  eaten, 
Mitsuhide  said  to  him :  —  "I  have  heard  that  you 
are  very  fond  of  wine ;  —  how  much  wine  can 
you  drink  at  a  single  sitting  ?  "  Kwashin  Koji 
answered :  —  "I  do  not  really  know  how  much  ; 
I  stop  drinking  only  when  I  feel  intoxication 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      49 

coming  on."  Then  the  lord  set  a  great  wine- 
cup  1  before  Kwashin  Koji,  and  told  a  servant  to 
fill  the  cup  as  often  as  the  old  man  wished.  And 
Kwashin  Koji  emptied  the  great  cup  ten  times  in 
succession,  and  asked  for  more ;  but  the  servant 
made  answer  that  the  wine-vessel  was  exhausted. 
All  present  were  astounded  by  this  drinking-feat ; 
and  the  lord  asked  Kwashin  Koji,  "Are  you 
not  yet  satisfied,  Sir  ?  "  "  Well,  yes,"  replied 
Kwashin  Koji,  "  I  am  somewhat  satisfied  ;  —  and 
now,  in  return  for  your  august  kindness,  1  shall 
display  a  little  of  my  art.  Be  therefore  so  good 
as  to  observe  that  screen."  He  pointed  to  a  large 
eight -folding  screen  upon  which  were  painted  the 
Eight  Beautiful  Views  of  the  Lake  of  Omi  (6mi- 
Hakkei) ;  and  everybody  looked  at  the  screen. 
In  one  of  the  views  the  artist  had  represented,  far 
away  on  the  lake,  a  man  rowing  a  boat,  —  the 
boat  occupying,  upon  the  surface  of  the  screen, 
a  space  of  less  than  an  inch  in  length.  Kwashin 


i  The  term  "  bowl"  would  better  indicate  the  kind  of 
vessel  to  which  the  story-teller  refers.  Some  of  the  so- 
called  cups,  used  on  festival  occasions,  were  very  large, — 
shallow  lacquered  basins  capable  of  holding  considerably 
more  than  a  quart.  To  empty  one  of  the  largest  size,  at  a 
draught,  was  considered  to  be  no  small  feat. 
4 


£0  Japanese  Miscellany 

Koji  then  waved  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the 
boat ;  and  all  saw  the  boat  suddenly  turn,  and  be 
gin  to  move  toward  the  foreground  of  the  picture. 
It  grew  rapidly  larger  and  larger  as  it  approached ; 
and  presently  the  features  of  the  boatman  be 
came  clearly  distinguishable.  Still  the  boat  drew 
nearer,  —  always  becoming  larger,  —  until  it  ap 
peared  to  be  only  a  short  distance  away.  And, 
all  of  a  sudden,  the  water  of  the  lake  seemed  to 
overflow,  —  out  of  the  picture  into  the  room  ;  — 
and  the  room  was  flooded ;  and  the  spectators 
girded  up  their  robes  in  haste,  as  the  water  rose 
above  their  knees.  In  the  same  moment  the 
boat  appeared  to  glide  out  of  the  screen,  —  a  real 
fishing-boat ;  —  and  the  creaking  of  the  single  oar 
could  be  heard.  Still  the  flood  in  the  room  con 
tinued  to  rise,  until  the  spectators  were  standing 
up  to  their  girdles  in  water.  Then  the  boat  came 
close  up  to  Kwashin  Koji ;  and  Kwashin  Koji 
climbed  into  it ;  and  the  boatman  turned  about, 
and  began  to  row  away  very  swiftly.  And,  as  the 
boat  receded,  the  water  in  the  room  began  to  lower 
rapidly,  —  seeming  to  ebb  back  into  the  screen. 
No  sooner  had  the  boat  passed  the  apparent  fore 
ground  of  the  picture  than  the  room  was  dry 
again!  But  still  the  painted  vessel  appeared  to 


The  Story  of  Kwashin  Koji      £1 

glide  over  the  painted  water,  —  retreating  further 
into  the  distance,  and  ever  growing  smaller,  - 
till  at  last  it  dwindled  to  a  dot  in  the  offing. 
And  then  it  disappeared  altogether ;  and  Kwashin 
Koji  disappeared  with  it.  He  was  never  again 
seen  in  Japan. 


The  Story  of  Umetsu  Chubei 


The  Story  of  Umetsu  Chubei1 
* 

UMETSU  CHUBEI  was  a  young  samurai 
of  great  strength  and  courage.  He 
was  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  Tomura 
Judayu,  whose  castle  stood  upon  a  lofty  hill  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Yokote,  in  the  province  of 
Dewa.  The  houses  of  the  lord's  retainers  formed 
a  small  town  at  the  base  of  the  hill. 

Umetsu  was  one  of  those  selected  for  night - 
duty  at  the  castle-gates.  There  were  two  night- 
watches  ;  —  the  first  beginning  at  sunset  and 
ending  at  midnight ;  the  second  beginning  at 
midnight  and  ending  at  sunrise. 

Once,  when  Umetsu  happened  to  be  on  the 
second  watch,  he  met  with  a  strange  adventure. 
While  ascending  the  hill  at  midnight,  to  take  his 
place  on  guard,  he  perceived  a  woman  standing 
at  the  last  upper  turn  of  the  winding  road  lead- 

i  Related  in  the  Bukkyo-Hj'akkwa-Zensbo. 

55 


">6  Japanese  Miscellany 

ing  to  the  castle.  She  appeared  to  have  a  child 
in  her  arms,  and  to  be  waiting  for  somebody. 
Only  the  most  extraordinary  circumstances  could 
account  for  the  presence  of  a  woman  in  that 
lonesome  place  at  so  late  an  hour ;  and  Umetsu 
remembered  that  goblins  were  wont  to  assume 
feminine  shapes  after  dark,  in  order  to  deceive 
and  destroy  men.  He  therefore  doubted  whether 
the  seeming  woman  before  him  was  really  a 
human  being;  and  when  he  saw  her  hasten 
towards  him,  as  if  to  speak,  he  intended  to 
pass  her  by  without  a  word.  But  he  was  too 
much  surprised  to  do  so  when  the  woman  called 
him  by  name,  and  said,  in  a  very  sweet  voice :  — 
"Good  Sir  Umetsu,  to-night  I  am  in  great 
trouble,  and  I  have  a  most  painful  duty  to  per 
form  :  will  you  not  kindly  help  me  by  holding 
this  baby  for  one  little  moment?"  And  she 
held  out  the  child  to  him. 

Umetsu  did  not  recognize  the  woman,  who 
appeared  to  be  very  young:  he  suspected  the 
charm  of  the  strange  voice,  suspected  a  super 
natural  snare,  suspected  everything  ;  —  but  he 
was  naturally  kind ;  and  he  felt  that  it  would 
be  unmanly  to  repress  a  kindly  impulse  through 
fear  of  goblins.  Without  replying,  he  took  the 


Umetsu  Chubei  £7 

child.  "  Please  hold  it  till  I  come  back,"  said 
the  woman :  "I  shall  return  in  a  very  little 
while."  "  I  will  hold  it,"  he  answered ;  and 
immediately  the  woman  turned  from  him,  and, 
leaving  the  road,  sprang  soundlessly  down  the 
hill  so  lightly  and  so  quickly  that  he  could 
scarcely  believe  his  eyes.  She  was  out  of  sight 
in  a  few  seconds. 

Umetsu  then  first  looked  at  the  child.  It  was 
very  small,  and  appeared  to  have  been  just  born. 
It  was  very  still  in  his  hands;  and  it  did  not 
cry  at  all. 

Suddenly  it  seemed  to  be  growing  larger.  He 
looked  at  it  again.  ...  No:  it  was  the  same 
small  creature ;  and  it  had  not  even  moved. 
Why  had  he  imagined  that  it  was  growing 
larger  ? 

In  another  moment  he  knew  why ;  —  and  he 
felt  a  chill  strike  through  him.  The  child  was 
not  growing  larger ;  but  it  was  growing  heavier. 
...  At  first  it  had  seemed  to  weigh  only  seven 
or  eight  pounds :  then  its  weight  had  gradually 
doubled  —  tripled  —  quadrupled.  Now  it  could 
not  weigh  less  than  fifty  pounds ;  —  and  still  it 
was  getting  heavier  and  heavier.  ...  A  hun 
dred  pounds !  —  a  hundred  and  fifty !  —  two  hun- 


!>8  Japanese  Miscellany 

dred !  .  .  .  Umetsu  knew  that  he  had  been 
deluded,  —  that  he  had  not  been  speaking  with 
any  mortal  woman,  —  that  the  child  was  not 
human.  But  he  had  made  a  promise;  and  a 
samurai  was  bound  by  his  promise.  So  he  kept 
the  infant  in  his  arms ;  and  it  continued  to  grow 
heavier  and  heavier  .  .  .  two  hundred  and  fifty ! 
—  three  hundred !  —  four  hundred  pounds !  .  .  . 
What  was  going  to  happen  he  could  not  imag 
ine  ;  but  he  resolved  not  to  be  afraid,  and  not 
to  let  the  child  go  while  his  strength  lasted.  .  .  . 
Five  hundred!  —  five  hundred  and  fifty!  —  six 
hundred  pounds !  All  his  muscles  began  to 
quiver  with  the  strain ;  —  and  still  the  weight 
increased.  ..."  Namu  Amida  Butsu !  "  he 
groaned  —  "  Namu  Amida  Butsu  !  —  Namu 
Amida  Butsu!"  Even  as  he  uttered  the  holy 
invocation  for  the  third  time,  the  weight  passed 
away  from  him  with  a  shock ;  and  he  stood 
stupefied,  with  empty  hands,  —  for  the  child  had 
unaccountably  disappeared.  But  almost  in  the 
same  instant  he  saw  the  mysterious  woman  re 
turning  as  quickly  as  she  had  gone.  Still  pant 
ing  she  came  to  him ;  and  he  then  first  saw 
that  she  was  very  fair ;  —  but  her  brow  dripped 
with  sweat;  and  her  sleeves  were  bound  back 


Umetsu  Chubei  ?9 

with  tasuki-cords,  as  if  she  had  been  working 
hard. 

"  Kind  Sir  Umetsu,"  she  said,  "  you  do  not 
know  how  great  a  service  you  have  done  me. 
I  am  the  Ujigami1  of  this  place;  and  to-night 
one  of  my  Ujiko  found  herself  in  the  pains  of 
childbirth,  and  prayed  to  me  for  aid.  But  the 
labor  proved  to  be  very  difficult ;  and  I  soon 
saw  that,  by  my  own  power  alone,  I  might  not 
be  able  to  save  her :  — therefore  I  sought  for 
the  help  of  your  strength  and  courage.  And 
the  child  that  I  laid  in  your  hands  was  the  child 
that  had  not  yet  been  born;  and  in  the  time 
that  you  first  felt  the  child  becoming  heavier 
and  heavier,  the  danger  was  very  great,  —  for 
the  Gates  of  Birth  were  closed.  And  when  you 
felt  the  child  become  so  heavy  that  you  despaired 
of  being  able  to  bear  the  weight  much  longer,  — 
in  that  same  moment  the  mother  seemed  to  be 
dead,  and  the  family  wept  for  her.  Then  you 
three  times  repeated  the  prayer,  Namu  Amida 
Butsu!  —  and  the  third  time  that  you  uttered 


1  Ujigami  is  the  title  given  to  the  tutelary  Shinto  divin 
ity  of  a  parish  or  district.  All  persons  living  in  that  parish 
or  district,  and  assisting  in  the  maintenance  of  the  temple 
(miya]  of  the  deity,  are  called  Ujiko. 


60  Japanese  Miscellany 

it  the  power  of  the  Lord  Buddha  came  to  our 
aid,  and  the  Gates  of  Birth  were  opened.  .  .  . 
And  for  that  which  you  have  done  you  shall  be 
fitly  rewarded.  To  a  brave  samurai  no  gift  can 
be  more  serviceable  than  strength :  therefore, 
not  only  to  you,  but  likewise  to  your  children 
and  to  your  children's  children,  great  strength 
shall  be  given." 

And,  with  this  promise,  the  divinity  disap 
peared. 

Umetsu  Chubei,  wondering  greatly,  resumed 
his  way  to  the  castle.  At  sunrise,  on  being 
relieved  from  duty,  he  proceeded  as  usual  to 
wash  his  face  and  hands  before  making  his 
morning  prayer.  But  when  he  began  to  wring 
the  towel  which  had  served  him,  he  was  sur 
prised  to  feel  the  tough  material  snap  asunder 
in  his  hands.  He  attempted  to  twist  together 
the  separated  portions ;  and  again  the  stuff 
parted  —  like  so  much  wet  paper.  He  tried  to 
wring  the  four  thicknesses;  and  the  result  was 
the  same.  Presently,  after  handling  various  ob 
jects  of  bronze  and  of  iron  which  yielded  to  his 
touch  like  clay,  he  understood  that  he  had  come 
into  full  possession  of  the  great  strength  prom- 


Umetsu  Chubei  61 

ised,  and  that  he  would  have  to  be  careful  thence 
forward  when  touching  things,  lest  they  should 
crumble  in  his  fingers. 

On  returning  home,  he  made  inquiry  as  to 
whether  any  child  had  been  born  in  the  settle 
ment  during  the  night.  Then  he  learned  that 
a  birth  had  actually  taken  place  at  the  very 
hour  of  his  adventure,  and  that  the  circum 
stances  had  been  exactly  as  related  to  him  by 
the  Ujigami. 

The  children  of  Umetsu  Chubei  inherited  their 
father's  strength.    Several  of  his  descendants  — 
all  remarkably  powerful  men  —  were  still  living 
in  the  province  of  Dewa  at  the  time  when  this 
story  was  written. 


The  Story  of  Kogi  the  Priest 


The  Story  of  Kogi  the  Priest1 
* 

NEARLY  one  thousand  years  ago  there  lived 
in  the  famous  temple  called  Miidera,  at 
Otsu 2  in  the  province  of  Omi,  a  learned 
priest  named  Kogi.  He  was  a  great  artist.  He 
painted,  with  almost  equal  skill,  pictures  of  the 
Buddhas,  pictures  of  beautiful  scenery,  and  pic 
tures  of  animals  or  birds;  but  he  liked  best  to 
paint  fishes.  Whenever  the  weather  was  fair,  and 
religious  duty  permitted,  he  would  go  to  Lake 
Biwa,  and  hire  fishermen  to  catch  fish  for  him, 
without  injuring  them  in  any  way,  so  that  he 
could  paint  them  afterwards  as  they  swam  about 
in  a  large  vessel  of  water.  After  having  made 

1  From  the  collection  entitled  Ugetsu  Monogatari. 

2  The  town  of  Otsu  stands  on  the  shore  of  the  great 
Lake  of  Omi,  —  usually  called  Lake  Biwa;  —  and  the  temple 
Miidera  is  situated  upon  a  hill  overlooking  the  water. 
Miidera  was  founded  in  the  seventh  century,  but  has  been 
several  times  rebuilt :  the  present  structure  dates  back  to 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

5  65 


66  Japanese  Miscellany 

pictures  of  them,  and  fed  them  like  pets,  he 
would  set  them  free  again, —  taking  them  back 
to  the  lake  himself.  His  pictures  of  fish  at  last 
became  so  famous  that  people  travelled  from 
great  distances  to  see  them.  But  the  most  won 
derful  of  all  his  drawings  of  fish  was  not  drawn 
from  life,  but  was  made  from  the  memory  of  a 
dream.  For  one  day,  as  he  sat  by  the  lake-side 
to  watch  the  fishes  swimming,  Kogi  had  fallen 
into  a  doze,  and  had  dreamed  that  he  was  playing 
with  the  fishes  under  the  water.  After  he  awoke, 
the  memory  of  the  dream  remained  so  clear  that 
he  was  able  to  paint  it ;  and  this  painting,  which 
he  hung  up  in  the  alcove  of  his  own  room  in  the 
temple,  he  called  "  Dream -Carp." 

Kogi  could  never  be  persuaded  to  sell  any  of 
his  pictures  of  fish.  He  was  willing  to  part  with 
his  drawings  of  landscapes,  of  birds,  or  of  flowers ; 
but  he  said  that  he  would  not  sell  a  picture  of 
living  fish  to  any  one  who  was  cruel  enough  to 
kill  or  to  eat  fish.  And  as  the  persons  who 
wanted  to  buy  his  paintings  were  all  fish -eaters, 
their  offers  of  money  could  not  tempt  him. 

One  summer  Kogi  fell  sick ;  and  after  a  week's 
illness  he  lost  all  power  of  speech  and  movement, 


Kogi  the  Priest  67 

so  that  he  seemed  to  be  dead.  But  after  his 
funeral  service  had  been  performed,  his  disciples 
discovered  some  warmth  in  the  body,  and  decided 
to  postpone  the  burial  for  awhile,  and  to  keep 
watch  by  the  seeming  corpse.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day  he  suddenly  revived,  and  ques 
tioned  the  watchers,  asking :  — 

"  How  long  have  I  remained  without  knowledge 
of  the  world  ?  " 

"  More  than  three  days,"  an  acolyte  made 
answer.  "  We  thought  that  you  were  dead  ;  and 
this  morning  your  friends  and  parishioners  assem 
bled  in  the  temple  for  your  funeral  service.  We 
performed  the  service;  but  afterwards,  finding 
that  your  body  was  not  altogether  cold,  we  put 
off  the  burial;  and  now  we  are  very  glad  that 
we  did  so." 

Kogi  nodded  approvingly :  then  he  said :  — 

"  I  want  some  one  of  you  to  go  immediately 
to  the  house  of  Taira  no  Suke,  where  the  young 
men  are  having  a  feast  at  the  present  moment  — 
(they  are  eating  fish  and  drinking  wine),  —  and 
say  to  them  :  —  '  Our  master  has  revived ;  and  he 
begs  that  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  leave  your 
feast,  and  to  call  upon  him  without  delay,  be 
cause  he  has  a  wonderful  story  to  tell  you.'  .  .  . 


68  Japanese  Miscellany 

At  the  same  time  "  —  continued  Kogi  —  "  observe 
what  Suke  and  his  brothers  are  doing;  — see 
whether  they  are  not  feasting  as  I  say." 

Then  an  acolyte  went  at  once  to  the  house  of 
Taira  no  Suke,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that 
Suke  and  his  brother  Juro,  with  their  attendant, 
Kamori,  were  having  a  feast,  just  as  Kogi  had 
said.  But,  on  receiving  the  message,  all  three 
immediately  left  their  fish  and  wine,  and  hastened 
to  the  temple.  Kogi,  lying  upon  the  couch  to 
which  he  had  been  removed,  received  them  with 
a  smile  of  welcome ;  and,  after  some  pleasant 
words  had  been  exchanged,  he  said  to  Suke  :  - 

"  Now,  my  friend,  please  reply  to  some  ques 
tions  that  I  am  going  to  ask  you.  First  of  all, 
kindly  tell  me  whether  you  did  not  buy  a  fish 
to-day  from  the  fisherman  Bunshi." 

"  Why,  yes,"  replied  Suke  —  "  but  how  did 
you  know  ? " 

"  Please  wait  a  moment,"  said  the  priest.  .  .  . 
"  That  fisherman  Bunshi  to-day  entered  your  gate, 
with  a  fish  three  feet  long  in  his  basket :  it  was 
early  in  the  afternoon,  just  after  you  and  Juro 
had  begun  a  game  of  go ;  —  and  Kamori  was 
watching  the  game,  and  eating  a  peach  —  was 
he  not  ?  " 


Kogi  the  Priest  69 

"That  is  true,"  exclaimed  Suke  and  Kamori 
together,  with  increasing  surprise. 

"  And  when  Kamori  saw  that  big  fish,"  pro 
ceeded  Kogi,  "  he  agreed  to  buy  it  at  once  ;  and, 
besides  paying  the  price  of  the  fish,  he  also  gave 
Bunshi  some  peaches,  in  a  dish,  and  three  cups  of 
wine.  Then  the  cook  was  called  ;  and  he  came 
and  looked  at  the  fish,  and  admired  it ;  and  then, 
by  your  order,  he  sliced  it  and  prepared  it  for 
your  feast.  .  .  .  Did  not  all  this  happen  just  as  1 
have  said  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  responded  Suke ;  "  but  we  are  very 
much  astonished  that  you  should  know  what 
happened  in  our  house  to-day.  Please  tell  us 
how  you  learned  these  matters." 

"  Well,  now  for  my  story,"  said  the  priest. 
"  You  are  aware  that  almost  everybody  believed 
me  to  be  dead ;  —  you  yourselves  attended  my 
funeral  service.  But  I  did  not  think,  three  days 
ago,  that  I  was  at  all  dangerously  ill :  I  remem 
ber  only  that  I  felt  weak  and  very  hot,  and  that 
I  wanted  to  go  out  into  the  air  to  cool  myself. 
And  I  thought  that  I  got  up  from  my  bed,  with  a 
great  effort,  and  went  out, — supporting  myself 
with  a  stick.  .  .  .  Perhaps  this  may  have  been 
imagination;  but  you  will  presently  be  able  to 


70  Japanese  Miscellany 

judge  the  truth  for  yourselves :  I  am  going  to 
relate  everything  exactly  as  it  appeared  to  hap 
pen.  ...  As  soon  as  I  got  outside  of  the  house, 
into  the  bright  air,  I  began  to  feel  quite  light,  — 
light  as  a  bird  flying  away  from  the  net  or  the 
basket  in  which  it  has  been  confined.  I  wandered 
on  and  on  till  I  reached  the  lake ;  and  the  water 
looked  so  beautiful  and  blue  that  I  felt  a  great 
desire  to  have  a  swim.  I  took  off  my  clothes, 
and  jumped  in,  and  began  to  swim  about ;  and  I 
was  astonished  to  find  that  I  could  swim  very 
fast  and  very  skilfully,  —  although  before  my 
sickness  I  had  always  been  a  very  poor  swim 
mer.  .  .  .  You  think  that  I  am  only  telling  you 
a  foolish  dream  —  but  listen !  .  .  .  While  I  was 
wondering  at  this  new  skill  of  mine,  I  perceived 
many  beautiful  fishes  swimming  below  me  and 
around  me ;  and  1  felt  suddenly  envious  of  their 
happiness,  —  reflecting  that,  no  matter  how  good 
a  swimmer  a  man  may  become,  he  never  can 
enjoy  himself  under  the  water  as  a  fish  can. 
Just  then,  a  very  big  fish  lifted  its  head  above  the 
surface  in  front  of  me,  and  spoke  to  me  with  the 
voice  of  a  man,  saying :  — '  That  wish  of  yours 
can  very  easily  be  satisfied:  please  wait  there  a 
moment ! '  The  fish  then  went  down,  out  of 


Kogi  the  Priest  71 

sight ;  and  I  waited.  After  a  few  minutes  there 
came  up,  from  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  —  riding 
on  the  back  of  the  same  big  fish  that  had  spoken 
to  me,  —  a  man  wearing,  the  headdress  and  the 
ceremonial  robes  of  a  prince ;  and  the  man  said 
to  me :  — '  I  come  to  you  with  a  message  from 
the  Dragon-King,  who  knows  of  your  desire  to 
enjoy  for  a  little  time  the  condition  of  a  fish. 
As  you  have  saved  the  lives  of  many  fish,  and 
have  always  shown  compassion  to  living  crea 
tures,  the  God  now  bestows  upon  you  the  attire 
of  the  Golden  Carp,  so  that  you  will  be  able  to 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  Water- World.  But 
you  must  be  very  careful  not  to  eat  any  fish,  or 
any  food  prepared  from  fish, —  no  matter  how 
nice  may  be  the  smell  of  it;  —  and  you  must 
also  take  great  care  not  to  get  caught  by  the 
fishermen,  or  to  hurt  your  body  in  any  way.' 
With  these  words,  the  messenger  and  his  fish 
went  below  and  vanished  in  the  deep  water.  I 
looked  at  myself,  and  saw  that  my  whole  body 
had  become  covered  with  scales  that  shone  like 
gold  ;  —  I  saw  that  I  had  fins ;  —  I  found  that  I 
had  actually  been  changed  into  a  Golden  Carp. 
Then  I  knew  that  I  could  swim  wherever  I 
pleased. 


72  Japanese  Miscellany 

"  Thereafter  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  swam 
away,  and  visited  many  beautiful  places.  [Here, 
in  the  original  narrative,  are  introduced  some 
vtrses  describing  the  Eight  Famous  Attractions 
of  the  Lake  of  Omi,  —  "  Omi-Hakkei."]  Some 
times  I  was  satisfied  only  to  look  at  the  sunlight 
dancing  over  the  blue  water,  or  to  admire  the 
beautiful  reflection  of  hills  and  trees  upon  still 
surfaces  sheltered  from  the  wind.  ...  I  remem 
ber  especially  the  coast  of  an  island  —  either 
Okitsushima  or  Chikubushima  —  reflected  in  the 
water  like  a  red  wall.  .  .  .  Sometimes  I  would 
approach  the  shore  so  closely  that  I  could  see  the 
faces  and  hear  the  voices  of  people  passing  by ; 
sometimes  I  would  sleep  on  the  water  until 
startled  by  the  sound  of  approaching  oars.  At 
night  there  were  beautiful  moonlight-views ;  but 
I  was  frightened  more  than  once  by  the  approach 
ing  torchfires  of  the  fishing-boats  of  Katase. 
When  the  weather  was  bad,  I  would  go  below,  - 
far  down,  — even  a  thousand  feet,  —  and  play  at 
the  bottom  of  the  lake.  But  after  two  or  three 
days  of  this  wandering  pleasure,  I  began  to  feel 
very  hungry ;  and  I  returned  to  this  neighbor 
hood  in  the  hope  of  finding  something  to  eat. 
Just  at  that  time  the  fisherman  Bunshi  happened 


Kogi  the  Priest  73 

to  be  fishing ;  and  I  approached  the  hook  which 
he  had  let  down  into  the  water.  There  was  some 
fish-food  upon  it  that  was  good  to  smell.  I 
remembered  in  the  same  moment  the  warning  of 
the  Dragon-King,  and  swam  away,  saying  to  my 
self  :  —  Mn  any  event  I  must  not  eat  food  con 
taining  fish  ;  —  1  am  a  disciple  of  the  Buddha.' 
Yet  after  a  little  while  my  hunger  became  so  in 
tense  that  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation ;  and  I 
swam  back  again  to  the  hook,  thinking,  — '  Even 
if  Bunshi  should  catch  me,  he  would  not  hurt 
me;  — he  is  my  old  friend.'  I  was  not  able  to 
loosen  the  bait  from  the  hook ;  and  the  pleas 
ant  smell  of  the  food  was  too  much  for  my 
patience;  and  I  swallowed  the  whole  thing  at  a 
gulp.  Immediately  after  I  did  so,  Bunshi  pulled 
in  his  line,  and  caught  me.  I  cried  out  to  him, 
'  What  are  you  doing  ?  —  you  hurt  me  ! '  —  but 
he  did  not  seem  to  hear  me,  and  he  quickly  put 
a  string  through  my  jaws.  Then  he  threw  me 
into  his  basket,  and  took  me  to  your  house. 
When  the  basket  was  opened  there,  1  saw  you 
and  Juro  playing  go  in  the  south  room,  and 
Kamori  watching  you  —  eating  a  peach  the  while. 
All  of  you  presently  came  out  upon  the  veranda 
to  look  at  me;  and  you  were  delighted  to  see 


74  Japanese  Miscellany 

such  a  big  fish.  I  called  out  to  you  as  loud  as  I 
could :  —  M  am  not  a  fish  !  —  1  am  Kogi  —  Kogi 
the  priest !  please  let  me  go  back  to  my  temple  ! ' 
But  you  clapped  your  iiands  for  gladness,  and 
paid  no  attention  to  my  words.  Then  your  cook 
carried  me  into  the  kitchen,  and  threw  me  down 
violently  upon  a  cutting-board,  where  a  terribly 
sharp  knife  was  lying.  With  his  left  hand  he 
pressed  me  down,  and  with  his  right  hand  he 
took  up  that  knife,  —  and  1  screamed  to  him  :  - 
'  How  can  you  kill  me  so  cruelly  !  I  am  a  dis 
ciple  of  the  Buddha !  —  help  !  help ! '  But  in  the 
same  instant  I  felt  his  knife  dividing  me  —  a 
frightful  pain !  —  and  then  1  suddenly  awoke,  and 
found  myself  here  in  the  temple." 

When  the  priest  had  thus  finished  his  story, 
the  brothers  wondered  at  it ;  and  Suke  said  to 
him  :  —  "  I  now  remember  noticing  that  the  jaws 
of  the  fish  were  moving  all  the  time  that  we  were 
looking  at  it ;  but  we  did  not  hear  any  voice.  .  .  . 
Now  1  must  send  a  servant  to  the  house  with 
orders  to  throw  the  remainder  of  that  fish  into 
the  lake." 

Kogi  soon  recovered  from  his  illness,  and  lived 
to  paint  many  more  pictures.  It  is  related  that, 


Kogi  the  Priest  7? 

long  after  his  death,  some  of  his  fish-pictures  once 
happened  to  fall  into  the  lake,  and  that  the  figures 
of  the  fish  immediately  detached  themselves  from 
the  silk  or  the  paper  upon  which  they  had  been 
painted,  and  swam  away! 


FOLKLORE  GLEANINGS 


Dragon-flies 


Dragon-flies 


1 


ONE  of  the  old  names  of  Japan  is  Akitsu- 
shima,  meaning  "  The  Island  of  the 
Dragon-fly,"  and  written  with  the  char 
acter  representing  a  dragon-fly,  —  which  insect, 
now  called  tombo,  was  anciently  called  akitsu. 
Perhaps  this  name  Akitsushima,  "  Island  of  the 
Dragon-fly,"  was  phonetically  suggested  by  a 
still  older  name  for  Japan,  also  pronounced  Akit 
sushima,  but  written  with  different  characters, 
and  signifying  "  The  Land  of  Rich  Harvests." 
However  this  may  be,  there  is  a  tradition  that 
the  Emperor  Jimmu,  some  twenty-six  hundred 
years  ago,  ascended  a  mountain  to  gaze  over  the 
province  of  Yamato,  and  observed  to  those  who 
accompanied  him  that  the  configuration  of  the 
land  was  like  a  dragon-fly  licking  its  tail.  Because 
of  this  august  observation  the  province  of  Ya- 
6  81 


82  Japanese  Miscellany 

mato  came  to  b*  known  as  the  Land  of  the 
Dragon-fly;  and  eventually  the  name  was  ex 
tended  to  the  whole  island.  And  the  Dragon-fly 
remains  an  emblem  of  the  Empire  even  to  this 
day. 

In  a  literal  sense,  Japan  well  deserves  to  be 
called  the  Land  of  the  Dragon-fly ;  for,  as  Rein 
poetically  declared,  it  is  "a  true  Eldorado  to  the 
neuroptera-fancier."  Probably  no  other  country 
of  either  temperate  zone  possesses  so  many  kinds 
of  dragon-flies;  and  I  doubt  whether  even  the 
tropics  can  produce  any  dragon-flies  more  curi 
ously  beautiful  than  some  of  the  Japanese  species. 
The  most  wonderful  dragon-fly  that  I  ever  saw 
was  a  Japanese  Calepteryx,  which  I  captured 
last  summer  in  Shidzuoka.  It  was  what  the 
country-folk  call  a  "  black  dragon-fly  "  ;  but  the 
color  was  really  a  rich  deep  purple.  The  long 
narrow  wings,  velvety  purple,  seemed  —  even  to 
touch  —  like  the  petals  of  some  marvellous  flower. 
The  purple  body,  slender  as  a  darning-needle, 
was  decorated  with  dotted  lines  of  dead  gold. 
The  head  and  thorax  were  vivid  gold-green ;  but 
the  eyes  were  pure  globes  of  burnished  gold. 
The  legs  were  fringed  on  the  inner  side  with  in 
describably  delicate  spines,  set  at  right  angles  to 


Dragon-flies  83 

the  limb,  like  the  teeth  of  a  fairy-comb.  So 
exquisite  was  the  creature  that  I  felt  a  kind  of  re 
morse  for  having  disturbed  it,  —  felt  as  if  I  had 
been  meddling  with  something  belonging  to  the 
gods ;  —  and  1  quickly  returned  it  to  the  shrub  on 
which  it  had  been  reposing.  .  .  .  This  particular 
kind  of  dragon-fly  is  said  to  haunt  only  the  neigh 
borhood  of  a  clear  stream  near  the  town  of 
Yaidzu.  It  is,  however,  but  one  of  many  lovely 
varieties. 

But  the  more  exquisite  dragon-flies  are  infre 
quently  seen ;  and  they  seldom  figure  in  Japanese 
literature;  —  and  I  can  attempt  to  interest  my 
reader  only  in  the  poetry  and  the  folklore  of 
dragon-flies.  I  propose  to  discourse  of  dragon- 
flies  in  the  old-fashioned  Japanese  way ;  and  the 
little  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn  upon  the  sub 
ject, —  with  the  help  of  quaint  books  and  of 
long-forgotten  drawings,  —  mostly  relates  to  the 
commoner  species. 

But  before  treating  of  dragon-fly  literature,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  say  something  regarding 
dragon-fly  nomenclature.  Old  Japanese  books 
profess  to  name  about  fifty  kinds  ;  and  the  Cbufu- 


84  Japanese  Miscellany 

Zusetsu  actually  contains  colored  pictures  of 
nearly  that  number  of  dragon-flies.  But  in  these 
volumes  several  insects  resembling  dragon-flies  are 
improperly  classed  with  dragon-flies ;  and  in  more 
than  one  case  it  would  seem  that  different  names 
have  been  given  to  the  male  and  female  of  the 
same  species.  On  the  other  hand  I  find  as  many 
as  four  different  varieties  of  dragon-fly  bearing 
the  same  folk-name !  And  in  view  of  these  facts 
I  venture  to  think  that  the  following  list  will  be 
found  sufficiently  complete :  — 

\.-Mugiwara-tombd  (or  simply,  iombo), 
"  Barley-straw  Dragon-fly,"  —  so  called  because 
its  body  somewhat  resembles  in  shape  and  color  a 
barley-straw.  —  This  is  perhaps  the  most  common 
of  all  the  dragon-flies,  and  the  first  to  make  its 
appearance. 

II.  —  SUokara-tombo,  or  Sbio-tombd,  — "  Salt- 
fish   Dragon-fly,"   or   "  Salt   Dragon-fly,"  —  so 
called  because  the  end  of  its  tail  looks  as  if  it 
had  been  dipped  in  salt.    Sbiohara  is  the  name 
given  to  a  preparation  of  fish  preserved  in  salt. 

III.  —  Kino-tombo,  "  Yellow  Dragon-fly."  —  It 
is  not  all  yellow,  but  reddish,  with  yellow  stripes 
and  bands. 


Plate    1 


I.   SI-MO-TOMBO  ("  Sa/t  "  D.)       ^     ,   ,\\ 

I-t.    MUGJWARA-TOMBO  C"  Barley  Straw") 


Plate    2  ; 

I.     KlNO-TOMBO 

II.  KO-MUGI-TOMBO   \^; 


Dragon-flies  8? 

IV.  —  Ao-tombo.     Ao   means  either  blue  or 
green ;  and  two  different  kinds  of  dragon-fly,  - 
one  green,  and  one  metallic-blue,  —  are  called  by 
this  name. 

V.  —  Koshiaki-tombo,  —  "  Shining  Loins."  The 
insect  usually  so  called  is  black  and  yellow. 

VI.  —  Tono  -  Sama  -  tombo,  —  "  August  -  Lord 
Dragon-fly."    Many  different  kinds  of  dragon-fly 
are  called  by  this  name,  —  probably  on  account  of 
their  beautiful  colors.    The  name  Koshiaki,  or 
"  Shining  Loins,"   is  likewise  given  to  several 
varieties: 

VII. —  Ko-mugi-tombo,  "  Wheat-straw  Dragon 
fly."  —  Somewhat  smaller  than  the  "  Barley -straw 
dragon-fly." 

VIII.  —  Tsumaguro- tombo ,  "  Black-skirted  (or 
"  black-hemmed  ")  Dragon-fly."  —  Several  kinds 
of  dragon-flies  are  thus  called,  because  the  edges 
of  the  wings  are  black  or  dark -red. 

\\.  —  Kuro-tombo,  "Black  Dragon-fly."  As 
the  word  kuro  means  either  dark  in  color  or 
black,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  this  name  given 
both  to  deep  red  and  to  deep  purple  insects. 

X. — Karakasa-tombo,  "  Umbrella  Dragon-fly." 
The  body  of  this  creature  is  said  to  resemble,  both 
in  form  and  color,  a  closed  umbrella  of  the  kind 


86  Japanese  Miscellany 

known  as  karakasa,  made  of  split  bamboo 
covered  with  thick  oil-paper. 

XL  —  Cbo-tombo,  —  "  Butterfly  Dragon-fly." 
Several  varieties  of  dragon-fly  are  thus  called, — 
apparently  because  of  wing-markings  like  those 
of  moths  or  butterflies. 

XII.  —  Sbdjo-tombo.  A  bright-red  dragon-fly 
is  so  named,  simply  because  of  its  tint.  —  In  the 
zoological  mythology  of  China  and  Japan,  the 
Sbojo  figures  as  a  being  less  than  human,  but 
more  than  animal  — in  appearance  resembling 
a  stout  boy  with  long  crimson  hair.  From  this 
crimson  hair  it  was  alleged  that  a  wonderful  red 
dye  could  be  extracted.  The  Sbojo  was  supposed 
to  be  very  fond  of  sake ;  and  in  Japanese  art 
the  creature  is  commonly  represented  as  dancing 
about  a  sake-vessel 

XIII. — Haguro-tombdi  "  Black-winged  Dragon 
fly." 

XIV.  —  Oni  -yamma,    "  Demon   Dragon-fly." 
This  is  the  largest  of  all  the  Japanese  dragon- 
flies.      It    is    rather    unpleasantly  colored ;    the 
body  being  black,  with  bright  yellow  bands  and 
stripes. 

XV.  —  Ki-yamma,  "  Goblin  Dragon-fly/'    Also 
called  Ki-Emma,  —  "  Emma," or"  Yemma"  being 


Plate    3 
YUREI-TOMBO  ("  G£o>i/  "  /).)  of 

KLWO-TUMBO  ("  B/J.*  :-  D.) 


Plate    4 
I.     SHfXld-TOMBO 

II.   KAM';-TSUKE-TOMBO  ("  StaineJ-with-Kanc"  D.) 


Dragon-flies  87 

the  name  of  the  King  of  Death  and  Judge  of 
Souls. 

XVL  —  Sbdryo-tombo,  "  The  Dragon-fly  of  the 
Ancestral  Spirits."  This  appellation,  as  well  as 
another  of  kindred  meaning,  —  Sborai-tombo,  or 
"  Dragon-fly  of  the  Dead,"  —  would  appear,  so  far 
as  1  could  learn,  to  be  given  to  many  kinds  of 
dragon-fly. 

XVII.  —  Yurei-tombo,  —  "  Ghost  Dragon-fly." 
Various  creatures  are  called  by  this  name,  —  which 
I  thought  especially  appropriate  in  the  case  of  one 
beautiful  Calepteryx,  whose  soundless  black  flit 
ting  might  well  be  mistaken  for  the  motion  of  a 
shadow,  —  the  shadow  of  a  dragon-fly.    Indeed 
this  appellation  for  the  black  insect  must  have  been 
intended  to  suggest  the  primitive  idea  of  shadow 
as  ghost. 

XVIII.  —  Kane-tsuhe  -  tombo,    or    O-baguro  - 
tombo.     Either  name  refers  to  the  preparation 
formerly  used  to  blacken  the  teeth  of  married 
women,  and  might  be  freely  rendered  as  "  Tooth- 
blackening  Dragon-fly."     O-baguro    ("  honora 
ble  tooth -blackening  " )  or  Kane,  were  the  terms 
by  which  the  tooth -staining  infusion  was  com 
monly  known.     Kane  wo  tsukeru  signified  to 
apply,  or,  more  literally,  to  wear  the  stuff :  thus 


88  Japanese  Miscellany 

the  appellation  Kane-tsuke  tombo  might  be  inter 
preted  as  "  the  /6z;/£-stained  Dragon-fly."  The 
wings  of  the  insect  are  half -black,  and  look  as  if 
they  had  been  partly  dipped  in  ink.  Another 
and  equally  picturesque  name  for  the  creature  is 
Koya,  "  the  Dyer." 

X\X.  —  Ta-no-Kami-tombof  "  Dragon-fly  of 
the  God  of  Rice-fields."  This  appellation  has 
been  given  to  an  insect  variegated  with  red  and 
yellow. 

XX.  —  Yanagi-joro,  "  The  Lady  of  the  Weep 
ing-willow."  A  beautiful,  but  ghostly  name; 
for  the  Yanagi-joro  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Willow- 
tree.  I  find  that  two  very  graceful  species  of 
dragon-fly  are  thus  called. 

XX\.—Seki-i-Sbisbat  "  Red-robed  Messenger." 

XXII. —  Yamma-tombo.  The  name  is  a  sort 
of  doublet ;  yamma  signifying  a  large  dragon-fly, 
and  tombo  any  sort  of  dragon-fly.  This  is  the 
name  for  a  black-and-green  insect,  called  Onjo 
in  Izumo. 

XXIII.  —  Kuruma-yamma,  "  Wagon  Dragon 
fly,"  —  probably  so-named  from  the  disk-like 
appendages  of  the  tail. 

XXIV.  —Aka-tombo,  "  Red  Dragon-fly."    The 
name  is  now  given  to  various  species;   but  the 


Plate    5 
HAGURO-TOJWBO 


Plate    6 


I.    SEKI-I-SHISHA  ("  Re d-  Robed  Messenger  ") 
II.   AlCA-TOMBO 


Dragon-flies  89 

insect  especially  referred  to  as  Aka-tombo  by 
the  old  poets  is  a  small  dragon -fly,  which  is  often 
seen  in  flocks. 

XXV.  —  Tosumi-tombo,  "  Lamp-wick  Dragon 
fly."    A  very  small  creature,  —  thus  named  be 
cause  of   the  resemblance  of   its  body  to  the 
slender    pith-wick    used    in    the    old-fashioned 
Japanese  lamp. 

XXVI.  —  Mono-sasbi-tombo,    "  Foot-measure 
Dragon-fly."    This  also  is  a  very  small  insect. 
The  form  of  its  body,  with  the  ten  joint -mark 
ings,  suggested  this  name  ;  —  the  ordinary  Jap 
anese  foot-measure,   usually  made  of  bamboo, 
being  very  narrow,   and  divided   into  only  ten 
sun,  or  inches. 

XXVII.  —  Beni-tombo.    This  is  the  name  given 
to  a  beautiful  pink  dragon-fly,  on  account  of  its 
color.    Beni  is  a  kind  of  rouge,  with  which  the 
Japanese  girl  tints  her  lips  and  cheeks  on  certain 
occasions. 

XXVllL  —  Mekura-tombo, "  Blind  Dragon-fly." 
The  creature  thus  called  is  not  blind  at  all ;  but  it 
dashes  its  large  body  in  so  clumsy  a  way  against 
objects  in  a  room  that  it  was  at  one  time  sup 
posed  to  be  sightless. 

XXIX.  —  Ka-tombd,    "Mosquito  Dragon-fly," 


90  Japanese  Miscellany 

-perhaps  in  the  same  sense  as  the  American 
term  "  mosquito-hawk." 

XXX. — Kuro-yama-tombo,  "  Black  Mountain- 
Dragon-fly,"  •- so  called  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  Yama-tombo,  or  "  Mountain  Dragon-fly," 
which  is  mostly  green. 

XXXI.  —  Ko-yama-totnbd,  "  Little   Mountain- 
Dragon-fly," —  the  name  of  a  small  insect  resem 
bling  the  Yama-tombo  in  form  and  color. 

XXXII.  —  Tsukete-dan.     The  word  dan  is  a 
general  term  for  variegated  woven  stuffs;  and 
the  name  tsukete-dan  might  be  freely  rendered 
as  "  The  Wearer  of  the  Many-Colored  Robe." 

I  believe  that  in  the  foregoing  list  the  only 
name  requiring  further  explanation  is  the  name 
Sborai-tombo  f  or  Sboryo-tombo ,  in  its  meaning 
of  "  the  Dragon-fly  of  the  Dead."  Unlike  the 
equally  weird  name  Yurei-tombo,  or  "  Ghost 
Dragon-fly,"  the  term  Sborai-tombo  does  not  re 
fer  to  the  appearance  of  the  insect,  but  to  the 
strange  belief  that  certain  dragon-flies  are  ridden 
by  tbe  dead,  —  used  as  winged  steeds.  From  the 
morning  of  the  thirteenth  to  the  midnight  of 
the  fifteenth  day  of  the  old  seventh  month, — 
the  time  of  the  Festival  of  the  Bon,  —  the 


Dragon-flies  91 

dragon-flies  are  said  to  carry  the  Hotoke-Sama, 
the  August  Spirits  of  the  Ancestors,  who  then 
revisit  their  former  homes.  Therefore  during 
this  Buddhist  "  All-Souls."  children  are  forbidden 
to  molest  any  dragon-flies,  —  especially  dragon - 
flies  that  may  then  happen  to  enter  the  family 
dwelling.  This  supposed  relation  of  dragon -flies 
to  the  supernatural  world  helps  to  explain  an  old 
folk  saying,  still  current  in  some  provinces,  to  the 
effect  that  the  child  who  catches  dragon-flies  will 
never  "  obtain  knowledge."  Another  curious 
belief  is  that  certain  dragon-flies  "  carry  the 
image  of  Kwannon-Sama  (Avalokitesvara)," 
-  because  the  markings  upon  the  backs  of  the 
insects  bear  some  faint  resemblance  to  the  form 
of  a  Buddhist  icon. 

ii 

DIFFERENT  kinds  of  dragon-fly  show  themselves 
at  different  periods  ;  and  the  more  beautiful  spe 
cies,  with  few  exceptions,  are  the  latest  to  appear. 
All  Japanese  dragon-flies  have  been  grouped  by 
old  writers  into  four  classes,  according  to  the 
predominant  color  of  each  variety,  —  the  Yellow, 
Green  (or  Blue),  Black  (or  Dark),  and  Red 


92  Japanese  Miscellany 

Dragon-flies.  It  is  said  that  the  yellow-marked 
insects  are  the  earliest  to  appear  ;  that  the  green, 
blue,  and  black  varieties  first  show  themselves  in 
the  Period  of  Greatest  Heat ;  and  that  the  red 
kinds  are  the  last  to  come  and  the  last  to  go,  - 
vanishing  only  with  the  close  of  autumn.  In  a 
vague  and  general  way,  these  statements  can  be 
accepted  as  results  of  observation.  Nevertheless, 
the  dragon-fly  is  popularly  spoken  of  as  a  crea 
ture  of  autumn :  indeed  one  of  its  many  names, 
Ahitsu-mushi,  signifies  "  autumn  insect."  And 
the  appellation  is  really  appropriate  ;  for  it  is  not 
until  the  autumn  that  dragon-flies  appear  in  such 
multitude  as  to  compel  attention.  For  the  poet, 
however,  the  true  dragon-fly  of  autumn  is  the  red 

dragon-fly : 

Aki  no  ki  no 

Aka-tombo  ni 
Sadamarinu. 

That  the  autumn  season  has  begun  is  decided  by  the 
[appearance  of  the]  red  dragon-fly. 

Onoga  mi  ni 

Aki  wo  somenuku 

Tombo  kana ! 

0  the  dragon-fly  !  —  he  has  dyed  his  own  body  with 
[  the  color  of]  autumn  ! 


Dragon-flies  93 

Aki  no  hi  no 
Someta  iro  nari 
Aka-tombo ! 

Dyed  he  is  with  the  color  of  autumn  days  —  0  the  red 
dragon-fly ! 


" Spring,"  says  a  Japanese  poet,  "is  the  Season 
of  the  Eyes  ;  Autumn  is  the  Season  of  the  Ears," 
-  meaning  that  in  spring  the  blossoming-  of  the 
trees  and  the  magic  of  morning  haze  make  de 
light  for  the  eyes,  and  that  in  autumn  the  ears 
are  charmed  by  the  music  of  countless  insects. 
But  he  goes  on  to  say  that  this  pleasure  of 
autumn  is  toned  with  melancholy.  Those  plain 
tive  voices  evoke  the  memory  of  vanished  years 
and  of  vanished  faces,  and  so  to  Buddhist 
thought  recall  the  doctrine  of  impermanency- 
Spring  is  the  period  of  promise  and  of  hope ; 
autumn,  the  time  of  remembrance  and  of  regret. 
And  the  coming  of  autumn's  special  insect,  the 
soundless  dragon-fly,  —  voiceless  in  the  season 
of  voices,  —  only  makes  weirder  the  aspects  of 
change.  Everywhere  you  see  a  silent  play  of 
fairy  lightnings,  —  flashes  of  color  continually 
intercrossing,  like  a  weaving  of  interminable 


94  Japanese  .Miscellany 

enchantment  over  the  face  of  the  land.  Thus 
an  old  poet  describes  it :  — 

Kure'nai  no 
Kagero  hashiru, 
Tombo  kana ! 

Like  a  fleeting  of  crimson  gossamer-threads,  the  flashing 
of  the  dragon-flies. 

Ill 

FOR  more  than  ten  centuries  the  Japanese  have 
been  making  verses  about  dragon-flies ;  and  the 
subject  remains  a  favorite  one  even  with  the 
younger  poets  of  to-day.  The  oldest  extant 
poem  about  a  dragon-fly  is  said  to  have  been 
composed,  fourteen  hundred  and  forty  years 
ago,  by  the  Emperor  Yuriaku.  One  day  while 
this  Emperor  was  hunting,  say  the  ancient 
records,  a  gadfly  came  and  bit  his  arm.  There 
with  a  dragon-fly  pounced  upon  that  gadfly, 
and  devoured  it.  Then  the  Emperor  com 
manded  his  ministers  to  make  an  ode  in  praise 
of  that  dragon-fly.  But  as  they  hesitated  how 
to  begin,  he  himself  composed  a  poem  in  praise 
of  the  insect,  ending  with  the  words,  — 


Dragon-flies  95 

"  Even  a  creeping  insect 
Waits  upon  the  Great  Lord : 
Thy  form  it  will  bear, 
0  Yamato,  land  of  the  dragon-fly  ! " 

And  in  honor  of  the  loyal  dragon-fly,  the  place 
of  the  incident  was  called  Akitsuno,  or  the  Moor 
of  the  Dragon-fly. 

The  poem  attributed  to  the  Emperor  Yuriaku 
is  written  in  the  form  called  naga-uta,  or  "  long- 
poetry";  but  the  later  poems  on  dragon-flies 
are  mostlv  composed  in  the  briefer  forms  of 
Japanese  verse.  There  are  three  brief  forms, — 
the  ancient  tanka,  consisting  of  thirty-one  sylla 
bles  ;  the  popular  dodoitsu,  consisting  of  twenty- 
six  syllables ;  and  the  bokku,  consisting  of  only 
seventeen.  The  vast  majority  of  dragon-fly 
poems  are  in  bokku.  There  are  scarcely  any 
poems  upon  the  subject  in  dodoitsu,  and  — 
strange  to  say !  —  but  very  few  in  the  classical 
tanka.  The  friend  who  collected  for  me  all 
the  verses  quoted  in  this  essay,  and  many  hun 
dreds  more,  declares  that  he  read  through  fifty  - 
two  volumes  of  thirty-one-syllable  poetry  in 
the  Imperial  Library  before  he  succeeded  in 
finding  a  single  composition  about  dragon- flies ; 


96  Japanese  Miscellany 

and  eventually,  after  much  further  research,  he 
was  able  to  discover  only  about  a  dozen  such 
poems  in  tanka. 

The  reason  for  this  must  be  sought  in  the 
old  poetical  conventions.  Japanese  thirty-one- 
syllable  poetry  is  composed  according  to  rules 
that  have  been  fixed  for  hundreds  of  years. 
These  rules  require  that  almost  every  subject 
treated  shall  be  considered  in  some  relation  to 
one  of  the  seasons.  And  this  should  be  done  in 
accordance  with  certain  laws  of  grouping,  —  long- 
established  conventions  of  association,  recognized 
both  in  painting  and  in  poetry :  for  example, 
the  nightingale  should  be  mentioned,  or  por 
trayed,  together  with  the  plum-tree ;  the  sparrow, 
with  the  bamboo ;  the  cuckoo,  with  the  moon ; 
frogs,  with  rain ;  the  butterfly,  with  flowers ;  the 
bat,  with  the  willow-tree.  Every  Japanese  child 
knows  something  about  these  regulations.  Now, 
it  so  happens  that  no  such  relations  have  been 
clearly  fixed  for  the  dragon-fly  in  tanka-poeiry, 
-  though  in  pictures  we  often  see  it  perched  on 
the  edge  of  a  water-bucket,  or  upon  an  ear 
of  ripened  rice.  Moreover,  in  the  classification 
of  subject-groupings  for  poetry,  the  dragon-fly 
is  not  placed  among  musM  ("  insects  "  —  by 


Dragon-flies  97 

which  word  the  poet  nearly  always  means  a 
musical  insect  of  some  sort) ,  but  among  zo,  — 
a  term  of  very  wide  signification ;  for  it  includes 
the  horse,  cat,  dog,  monkey,  crow,  sparrow,  tor 
toise,  snake,  frog,  —  almost  all  fauna,  in  short. 

Thus  the  rarity  of  tanka-pozms  about  dragon- 
flies  may  be  explained.  But  why  should  dragon - 
flies  be  almost  ignored  in  dodoitsu?  Probably 
for  the  reason  that  this  form  of  verse  is  usually 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  love.  The  voiceless 
dragon-fly  can  suggest  to  the  love-poet  no  such 
fancies  as  those  inspired  by  the  singing- insects,  - 
especially  by  those  night-crickets  whose  music 
lingers  in  the  memory  of  some  evening  tryst. 
Out  of  several  hundred  dragon-fly  poems  col 
lected  for  me,  I  find  only  seven  relating,  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  the  subject  of  love ;  and  not  one 
of  the  seven  is  in  twenty -six-syllable  verse. 

But  in  the  form  hokhu  —  limited  to  seventeen 
syllables — the  poems  on  dragon-flies  are  almost 
as  numerous  as  are  the  dragon- flies  themselves 
in  the  early  autumn.  For  in  this  measure  there 
are  few  restraints  placed  upon  the  composer, 
either  as  to  theme  or  method.  Almost  the  only 
rule  about  hokhu,  —  not  at  all  a  rigid  one,  —  is 
that  the  poem  shall  be  a  little  word-picture, — 

7 


98  Japanese  Miscellany 

that  it  shall  revive  the  memory  of  something 
seen  or  felt,  —  that  it  shall  appeal  to  some  ex 
perience  of  sense.  The  greater  number  of  the 
poems  that  I  am  going  to  quote  certainly  fulfil 
this  requirement:  the  reader  will  find  that  they 
are  really  pictures,  —  tiny  color-prints  in  the 
manner  of  the  Ukiyo-ye  school.  Indeed  almost 
any  of  the  following  could  be  delightfully  imaged, 
with  a  few  touches  of  the  brush,  by  some  Japa 
nese  master :  - 

PICTURE-POEMS  ABOUT  DRAGON-FLIES 

Ine  no  ho  no 
Tombo  tomari 
Tare'nikeri. 

An  ear  of  rice  has  bent  because  a  dragon-fly  perched 
upon  it. 

Tombo  no 
Eda  ni  tsuitari 
Wasure'-guwa. 

See  the  dragon-fly  resting  on  the  handle  of  the  forgotten 
mattock.1 


1  The  kuwa  is  shaped  like  a  hoe,  but  is  a  much  heavier  tool.  When 
left  with  the  heavy  blade  resting  flat  upon  the  ground,  as  suggested  in 
this  little  word-picture,  the  handle  remains  almost  perpendicular. 


Dragon-flies  99 

Tombo  no 
Kaide  yukikeri 
Sute  waraji. 

Dragon-flies  have  gone  to  sniff  at  a  pair  of  cast-off 
sandals  of  straw. 

Sode  ni  tsuku 
Sumi  ka  ?  —  obana  ni 
Kane-tombo ! 

Is  it  an  ink-stain  upon  a  sleeve?  —  no:  it  is  only  the 
black  dragon-fly  resting  upon  the  obana.1 

Hi  wa  naname 
Sekiya  no  yari  ni 
Tombo  kana ! 

See  the  dragon-fly  perching  on  the  blade  of  the  spear 
leaning  against  the  rampart-wall ! 

Tombo  no 
Kusa  ni  undeya, 
Ushi  no  tsuno ! 

O  dragon-fly  !  how  have  you  wearied  of  the  grass  that 
you  should  thus  perch  upon  the  horn  of  a  cow  ! 


1  Obana  is  another  name  for  the  beautiful  flowering  grass  usually 
called  susuki,  and  known  to  botanists  as  Eularia  Japonica. 


100          Japanese  Miscellany 

Kaki-dake  no 
Ippon  nagaki  — 
Tombo  kana ! 

One  of  the  bamboo-stakes  in  that  fence  seems  to  be 
higher  than  the  others  —  but  no !  there  is  a  dragon-fly 
upon  it ! 

Kaki-dake  to 

Tombo  to  utsuru 

Shoji  kana ! 

The  shadow  of  the  bamboo-fence,  with  a  dragon-fly  at 
rest  upon  it,  is  thrown  upon  my  paper-window  ! 

Tsurigane  ni 

Hito-toki  yasumi 

Tombo  kana ! 

See !  the  dragon-fly  is  resting  awhile  upon  the  temple- 
bell  ! 

O  wo  motte 
Kane  ni  mukaeru,  — 
Tombo  kana ! 

Only  with  his  tail  he  thinks  to  oppose  [the  weight  of] 
the  great  temple-bell,  — O  silly  dragon-fly  ! 


Dragon-flies  101 

Naki-hito  no 
Shirushi  no  take  ni 
Tombo  kana ! 

Lo  !  a  dragon-fly  rests  upon  the  bamboo  that  marks  the 
grave  I 

Itte  wa  kite 
Tombo  taezu 
Fune  no  tsuna. 

About  the  ropes  of  the  ship  the  dragon-flies  cease  not  to 
come  and  go. 

Tombo  ya 
Fune  wa  nagarete 
Todomarazu. 

The  dragon-fly  ceases  not  to  flit  about  the  vessel  drifting 
down  the  stream. 

Tombo  ya ! 

Hobashira  ate  ni 

Toku  yuku. 

O  the  dragon-fly  !  —  keeping  an  eye  upon  the  mast,  he 
ventures  far ! 

Tombo  ya ! 
Hi  no  kage  delate', 
Nami  no  ue. 

Poor  dragon-fly !  —  now  that  the  sun  has  become  ob 
scured,  he  wanders  over  the  waves. 


102  Japanese  Miscellany 

Wata-tori  no 

Kasa  ya  tombo  no 

Hitotsu-zutsu. 

Look  at  the  bamboo-hats  of  the  cotton-pickers  !  — there 
is  <t  dragon-fly  perched  on  each  of  them  ' 

Nagare-yuku 

Awa  ni  yume  mini 
Tombo  kana ! 

Lo '  the  dragon-fly  dreams  a  dream  above  the  flowing 
of  the  foam-bubbies : 

Uki-kusa  no 

Hana  ni  asobu  ya, 

A  ka  -torn  bo! 

See  the  red  dragon-flj  sporting  about  the  blossoms  of 
the  water-weed  : 

Tombo  no 
Hitoshio  akashi 
Fuchi  no  ut. 

Much  more  red  seems  the  red  dragon-fly  when  hovering 
above  the  pool. 

Tsuri-beta  no 

Sao  ni  kite  neru 

Tombo  kana ! 

See  :  the  dragon-fly  settles  down  to  sleep  on  the  rod  erf 
the  unskilful  angler ! 


Dragon-tlies  10* 

Tombo  no 
Ha-ura  ni  sabishi, — 
Aki-shigure. 

Lonesomely  clings  the  dragon-fly  to  the  underside  of  the 
leaf — Ah!  the  autumn-rains  ! 


Tombo  no 
To  bakari  tsuku 
Kara-e  kana ! 

Only  ten  dragon-flies  —  .ill  clinging  to  the  same  withered 
spray ! 

Yosogoto  no 

Naruko  ni  nigeru, 

Tombo  kana ! 

Poor  dragon-fly !    scared  away  by  the  clapper l  that 
never  was  intended  for  you  ! 

Ao-zora  ya, 
Ka  hovio  mure-tobu 
Aka-tombo. 

High  in  the  azure  sky  the  gathering  of  red  dragon-flies 
looks  like  a  swarming  of  mosquitoes. 


This  clapper,  used  to  frighten  away  birds  from  the 
ca>ps.  consists  of  a  number  of  pieces  of  IvtmNx^.  or  hard  wood,  fas 
tened  to  a  rope  extended  across  the  field  or  garden.  When  the  end  of 
the  rope  is  pulled,  the  pieces  of  wood  rattle  loudly. 


104          Japanese  Miscellany 

Furu-haka  ya ; 
Aka-tombo  tobu ; 
Kare  shikimi. 

Old  tomb  !  —  [only]  a  flitting  of  red  dragon-flies ;  —  some 
withered  [offerings  of]  shikimi l  [before  the  grave]  ! 

Sabishisa  wo ! 
Tombo  tobu  nari 
Haka  no  ue. 

Desolation  !  —  dragon-flies  flitting  above  the  graves  ! 


Tombo  tonde, 
Koto-naki  mura  no 
Hi  go  nari. 

Dragon-flies  are  flitting,  and  the  noon-sun  is  shining, 
above  the  village  where  nothing  eventful  ever  happens. 

Yuzuki  hi 
Usuki  tombo  no 
Ha-kage  kana ! 

0  the  thin  shadow  of  the  dragon-fly's  wings  in  the  light 
of  sunset ! 


1  It  is  the  custom  to  set  sprays  of  shikimi  in  bamboo  vases  before 
the  graves  of  Buddhist  dead.  This  shikimi  is  a  kind  of  anise,  botani- 
cally  known  as  Jllicium  religiosum. 


Dragon-flies 

Tombo  no 
Kabe  wo  kakayuru 
Nishi-hi  kana ! 

0  that  sunlight  from  the  West,  and  the  dragon-fly  cling- 
i  ing  to  the  wall ! 

Tombo  toru 
Iri-hi  ni  tori  no 
Metsuki  kana ! 

0  the  expression  of  that  cock's  eyes  in  the  sunset-light 
—  trying  to  catch  a  dragon-fly  ! 

Tombo  no 
Mo  ya  iri-hi  no 
Issekai. 

Dance,  0  dragon-flies,  in  your  world  of  the  setting  sun  ! 

i 

Nama-kabe  ni 

Yu-hi  sasunari 
Aka-tombo. 

To  the  freshly-plastered  wall  a  red  dragon-fly  clings  in 
the  light  of  the  setting-sun.1 


1  This  is  a  tiny  color-study.    The  tint  of  the  freshly-plastered  wall 
is  supposed  to  be  a  warm  grey. 


106          Japanese  Miscellany 

De'ru  tsuki  to 
Iri-hi  no  ai  ya  — 
Aka-tombo. 

In  the  time  between  the  setting  of  the  sun  and  the  rising 
of  the  moon  —  red  dragon-flies. 

Yu-kage  ya, 
Nagare  ni  hitasu 
Tombo  no  o ! 

The  dragon-fly  at  dusk  dips  her  tail  into  the  running 
stream. 


IV 


THE  foregoing  compositions  are  by  old  authors 
mostly :  few  modern  hokku  on  the  subject  have 
the  same  naive  quality  of  picturesqueness.  The 
older  poets  seem  to  have  watched  the  ways  of 
the  dragon-fly  with  a  patience  and  a  freshness  of 
curiosity  impossible  to  this  busier  generation. 
They  made  verses  about  all  its  habits  and  pecu 
liarities, —  even  about  such  matters  as  the  queer 
propensity  of  the  creature  to  return  many  times 
in  succession  to  any  spot  once  chosen  for  a  perch. 
Sometimes  they  praised  the  beauty  of  its  wings, 


Dragon-flies  107 

and  compared  them  to  the  wings  of  devas  or 
Buddhist  angels;  sometimes  they  celebrated  the 
imponderable  grace  of  its  hovering,  —  the  ghostly 
stillness  and  lightness  of  its  motion ;  and  some 
times  they  jested  about  its  waspish  appearance 
of  anger,  or  about  the  goblin  oddity  of  its  stare. 
They  noticed  the  wonderful  way  in  which  it  can 
change  the  direction  of  its  course,  or  reverse  the 
play  of  its  wings  with  the  sudden  turn  that  sug 
gested  the  modern  Japanese  word  for  a  somer 
sault,  —  tombogaeri  ("dragon -fly -turning ")*  In 
the  dazzling  rapidity  of  its  flight  —  invisible  but 
as  a  needle-gleam  of  darting  color  —  they  found 
a  similitude  for  impermanency.  But  they  per 
ceived  that  this  lightning  flight  was  of  short 
duration,  and  that  the  dragon-fly  seldom  travels 
far,  unless  pursued,  preferring  to  flit  about  one 
spot  all  day  long.  Some  thought  it  worth  while 
to  record  in  verse  that  at  sunset  all  the  dragon - 
flies  flock  towards  the  glow,  and  that  they  rise 
high  in  air  when  the  sun  sinks  below  the  horizon, 
—  as  if  they  hoped  to  obtain  from  the  altitudes  , 
one  last  sight  of  the  vanishing  splendor.  They  j 

1  Tombogaeri  wo  utsu, "  to  throw  a  dragon-fly-turning  "/ 
is  the  Japanese  expression  corresponding  with  our  phrase, 
"to  turn  a  somersault." 


108          Japanese  Miscellany 

remarked  that  the  dragon-fly  cares  nothing;  for 
flowers,  and  is  apt  to  light  upon  stakes  or  stones 
rather  than  upon  blossoms;  and  they  wondered 
what  pleasure  it  could  find  in  resting  on  the  rail 
of  a  fence  or  upon  the  horn  of  a  cow.  Also  they 
marvelled  at  its  stupidity  when  attacked  with 
sticks  or  stones,  —  as  often  flying  toward  the 
danger  as  away  from  it.  But  they  sympathized 
with  its  struggles  in  the  spider's  net,  and  rejoiced 
to  see  it  burst  through  the  meshes.  The  follow 
ing  examples,  selected  from  hundreds  of  compo 
sitions,  will  serve  to  suggest  the  wide  range  of 
these  curious  studies :  — 


DRAGON-FLIES  AND  SUNSHINE 

Tombo  ya, 
Hi  no  sasu  katae 
Tate-yuku ! 

O  dragon-fly !  ever  towards  the  sun  you  rise  and  soar  ! 

Hiatari  no 
Dote  ya  hinemosu 
Tombo  tobu. 

Over  the  sunlit  bank,  all  day  long,  the  dragon-flies  flit  to 
and  fro. 


Dragon-flies  109 

Go-roku  shaku 
Onoga  kumoi  no 
Tombo  kana ! 

Poor  dragon-fly  ! — the  [blue]  space  of  five  or  six  feet 
[above  him]  he  thinks  to  be  his  own  sky  ! 

Tombo  no 
Muki  wo  soroeru 
Nishi-hi  kana ! 

Ah,  the  sunset-glow!     Now  all  the    dragon-flies  are 
shooting  in  the  same  direction. 

Tombo  ya ! 

Sora  e  hanarete 

Kurekakari. 

Dusk  approaches:    see!    the    dragon-flies    have    risen 
toward  the  sky  ! 

Hoshi  hitotsu 

Mini  made  asobu 

Tombo  kana ! 

O  dragon-fly  !  you  continue  to  sport  until  the  first  star 
appears ! 


110          Japanese  Miscellany 

FLIGHT  OF  DRAGON-FLIES 

To  yama  ya, 
Tombo  tsui-yuki, 
Tsui-kaeru. 

Quickly  the  dragon-fly  starts  for  the  distant  mountain, 
but  as  quickly  returns. 

Yukiote, 

Dochiramo  soreru 
Tombo  kana ! 

Meeting-  in  flight,  how  wonderfully  do  the  dragon-flies 
glance  away  from  each  other ! 

Narabu  ka  to 

Miete  wa  soreru 

Tombo  kana ! 

Lo !  the  dragon-flies  that  seemed  to  fly  in  line  all  scatter 
away  from  each  other. 

MENTIONED  IN  LOVE-SONGS 

KagerS  no 
Kage  tomo  ware  wa 

Nari  ni  keri 
Aruka  nakika  no 
Kimi  ga  nasake  ni. 


Dragon-flies  111 

Even  as  the  shadow  of  a  dragon-fly *  I  have  become,  by 
reason  of  the  slightness  of  your  love. 

Obotsu  kana ! 
Yume  ka  ?  utsusu  ka  ? 

Kagero  no 
Honomeku  yori  mo 
Hakanakarishi  wa ! 

0  my  doubt !  Is  it  a  dream  or  a  reality  ?  —  more  fugitive 
than  even  the  dim  flitting  of  a  dragon-fly ! " 


t  "2 


Tombo  ya ! 
Mi  wo  mo  kogasazu, 
Naki  mo  sezu ! 

Happy  dragon-fly !  — never  self-consumed  by  longing,— 
never  even  uttering  a  cry  ! 

STRANGENESS  AND  BEAUTY 

Tombo  no 
Kao  wa  okata 
Medama  kana ! 

0  the  face  of  the  dragon-fly !  —  almost  nothing  but 
eyes! 


1  The  word  kagero  here  means  "  drag-on-fly."   There  is  another  word 
kagero  meaning  "gossamer."    Though  written  alike  in  Romaji,  these 
two  terms  are  represented  in  Japanese  by  very  different  characters. 

2  The  thought  suggested  is,  —  "  Can  it  be  true  that  we  were  ever 
united,  even,  for  a  moment?  " 


112          Japanese  Miscellany 

Koe  naki  wo, 

Tombo  munen  ni 

Miyuru  kana ! 

0  dragon-fly !  you  appear  to  be  always  angry  because 
you  have  no  voice ! 

Semi  ni  makenu 
Hagoromo  mochishi, 
Tombo  kana ! 

O  dragon-fly !  the  celestial  raiment 1  you  possess  is  no 
wise  inferior  to  that  of  the  cicada  ! 


LIGHTNESS  OF  DRAGON-FLIES 

Tsubame  yori 
Tombo  wa  mono  mo 
Ugokasazu. 

More  lightly  even  than  the  swallow  does  the  dragon-fly 
touch  things  without  moving  them. 

Tombo  ya, 
Tori  no  fumarenu 
Eda  no  saki ! 


1  Literally  "  feather-robe  "  (bagoromo) ; —  this  is  the  name  given 
to  the  raiment  supposed  to  be  worn  by  the  "Sky-People"  —  angelic 
inhabitants  of  the  Buddhist  heaven.  The  hagoromo  enables  its 
wearer  to  soar  through  space ;  and  the  poet  compares  the  wings  of  the 
beautiful  insect  to  such  a  fairy  robe. 


Dragon-flies  11? 

O  dragon-fly,  you  perch  on  the  tip  of  the  spray  where 
never  a  bird  can  tread ! 


STUPIDITY  OF  DRAGON-FLIES 

Utsu-tsue  no 

Saki  ni  tomarishi, 

Tombo  kana ! 

0  dragon-fly !  you  light  upon  the  end  of  the  very  stick 
with  which  one  tries  to  strike  you  down ! 

Tachi-kaeru 
Tombo  tomaru 
Tsubute  kana ! 

See!  the  dragon-fly  returns  to  perch  upon  the  pebble 
that  was  thrown  at  it ! 


DRAGON-FLIES  AND  SPIDERS 

Kumonosu  no 
Atari  ni  asobu 
Tombo  kana ! 

Ah!  the  poor  dragon-fly,  sporting  beside  the  spider's 
web ! 


114          Japanese  Miscellany 

Sasagami  no 

Ami  no  hazurete, 

Tombo  kana ! 

Good  dragon-fly  !  —  he  has  extricated  himself  from  the 
net  of  the  spider  ! 

Kumo  gaki  mo 
Yaburu  kihoi  ya, 
Oni-tombo ! 

Through  even  the  spider's  fence  he  has  force  to  burst 
his  way  !  —  0  the  demon-dragon-fly  ! 


HEEDLESS  OF  FLOWERS 

Tombo  ya ! 
Hana-no  ni  mo  me  wa 
Hosorasezu. 

Ah,  the  dragon-fly!  even  in  the  flower-field  he  never 
half-shuts  his  eyes  ! x 

Tombo  ya ! 
Hana  ni  wa  yorade, 
Ishi  no  ue. 

0  the  dragon-fly !  —  heedless  of  the  flowers,  he  lights 
upon  a  stone ! 

1  Alluding  to  the  fact  that  one  half-closes  one's  eyes,  — in  order  to 
shadow  them,  and  so  to  see  more  distinctly,  —  when  looking  at  some 
beautiful   object.  —  Perhaps  the  rendering,  "never  makes  his  eyes 
narrower,"  would  better  express  the  exact  sense  of  the  original. 


Dragon-flies  11? 

Tombo  ya ! 

Hana  naki  kui  ni 

Sumi-narai. 

Ah,  the  dragon-fly  !  content  to  dwell  upon  a  flowerless 
stake ! 

Neta  ushi  no 
Tsuno  ni  hararenu, 
Yamma  kana ! 

O  great  dragon-fly !  will  you  never  leave  the  horn  of 
the  sleeping  ox  ? 

Kui  no  saki 
Nanika  ajiwo 
Tombo  kana  ? 

0  dragon-fly  !  what  can  you  be  tasting  on  the  top  of 
that  fence-stake  ? 

Of  course  these  compositions  make  but  slight 
appeal  to  aesthetic  sentiment :  they  are  merely 
curious,  for  the  most  part.  But  they  help  us  to 
understand  something  of  the  soul  of  the  elder 
Japan.  The  people  who  could  find  delight,  cen 
tury  after  century,  in  watching  the  ways  of  in 
sects,  and  in  making  such  verses  about  them, 
must  have  comprehended,  better  than  we,  the 
simple  pleasure  of  existence.  They  could  not, 


116          Japanese  Miscellany 

indeed,  describe  the  magic  of  nature  as  our  great 
Western  poets  have  done;  but  they  could  feel 
the  beauty  of  the  world  without  its  sorrow,  and 
rejoice  in  that  beauty,  much  after  the  manner  of 
inquisitive  and  happy  children. 

If  they  could  have  seen  the  dragon-fly  as  we 
can  see  it,  —  if  they  could  have  looked  at  that 
elfish  head  with  its  jewelled  ocelli,  its  marvellous 
compound  eyes,  its  astonishing  mouth,  under  the 
microscope,  —  how  much  more  extraordinary 
would  the  creature  have  seemed  to  them !  .  .  . 
And  yet,  though  wise  enough  to  have  lost  that 
fresh  na'ive  pleasure  in  natural  observation  which 
colors  the  work  of  these  quaint  poets,  we  are 
not  so  very  much  wiser  than  they  were  in  regard 
to  the  real  wonder  of  the  insect.  We  are  able 
only  to  estimate  more  accurately  the  immensity 
of  our  ignorance  concerning  it.  Can  we  ever 
hope  for  a  Natural  History  with  colored  plates 
that  will  show  us  how  the  world  appears  to  the 
faceted  eyes  of  a  dragon  -fly  ? 


CATCHING  dragon -flies  has  been  for  hundreds  of 
years  a  favorite  amusement  of  Japanese  children. 


Dragon-flies  117 

It  begins  with  the  hot  season,  and  lasts  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  autumn.  There  are  many  old 
poems  about  it,  —  describing  the  recklessness  of 
the  little  hunters.  To-day,  just  as  in  other  cen 
turies,  the  excitement  of  the  chase  leads  them 
into  all  sorts  of  trouble :  they  tumble  down  em 
bankments,  and  fall  into  ditches,  and  scratch  and 
dirty  themselves  most  fearfully,  —  heedless  of 
thorns  or  mud-holes  or  quagmires,  —  heedless  of 
heat,  —  heedless  even  of  the  dinner-hour :  — 

Meshi-doki  mo 
Modori  wasurete, 
Tombo-tsuri ! 

Even  at  the  hour  of  the  noon-day  meal  they  forget  to 
return  home,  —  the  children  catching  dragon-flies  ! 

Hadaka-go  no 

Tombo  tsuri-keri 

Hiru  no  tsuji ! 

The  naked  child  has  been  catching  dragon-flies  at  the 
road-crossing,  —  heedless  of  the  noon-sun! 


But  the  most  celebrated  poem  in  relation  to  this 
amusement  is  of  a  touching  character.     It  was 


118          Japanese  Miscellany 

written  by  the  famous  female  poet,  Chiyo  of 
Kaga,  after  the  death  of  her  little  boy:- 

Tombo-tsuri !  — 
Kyo  wa  doko  made 
Itta  yara ! 

"  Catching  dragon-flies !  .  .  .  I  wonder  where  lie  has 
gone  to-day ! " 

The  verse  is  intended  to  suggest,  not  to  express, 
the  emotion  of  the  mother.  She  sees  children 
running  after  dragon- flies,  and  thinks  of  her  own 
dead  boy  who  used  to  join  in  the  sport,  —  and 
so  finds  herself  wondering,  in  presence  of  the 
infinite  Mystery,  what  has  become  of  the  little 
soul.  Whither  has  it  gone  ?  —  in  what  shadowy 
play  does  it  now  find  delight  ? 

Dragon- flies  are  captured  sometimes  with  nets, 
sometimes  by  means  of  bamboo  rods  smeared 
at  the  end  with  birdlime,  sometimes  even  by 
striking  them  down  with  a  light  stick  or  switch. 
The  use  of  a  switch,  however,  is  not  commonly 
approved ;  for  the  insect  is  thereby  maimed,  and 
to  injure  it  unnecessarily  is  thought  to  be  unlucky, 
—  by  reason,  perhaps,  of  its  supposed  relation  to 


Dragon-flies  119 

the  dead.  A  very  successful  method  of  dragon 
fly-catching  —  practised  chiefly  in  the  Western 
provinces  —  is  to  use  a  captured  female  dragon 
fly  as  a  decoy.  One  end  of  a  long  thread  is 
fastened  to  the  insect's  tail,  and  the  other  end 
of  the  thread  to  a  flexible  rod.  By  moving  the 
rod  in  a  particular  way  the  female  can  be  kept 
circling  on  her  wings  at  the  full  length  of  the 
thread ;  and  a  male  is  soon  attracted.  As  soon 
as  he  clings  to  the  female,  a  slight  jerk  of  the 
rod  will  bring  both  insects  into  the  angler's  hand. 
With  a  single  female  for  lure,  it  is  easy  to  cap 
ture  eight  or  ten  males  in  succession. 

During  these  dragon-fly  hunts  the  children 
usually  sing  little  songs,  inviting  the  insect  to  ap 
proach.  There  are  many  such  dragon-fly  songs  ; 
and  they  differ  according  to  province.  An  Izumo 
song  of  this  class l  contains  a  curious  allusion  to 
the  traditional  conquest  of  Korea  in  the  third 
century  by  the  armies  of  the  Empress  Jingo; 
the  male  dragon-fly  being  thus  addressed:  — 
"  Thou,  the  male,  King  of  Korea,  art  not 
ashamed  to  flee  from  the  Queen  of  the  East?" 


1  Cited  in  Glimpses  of  Unfamiliar  Japan ;  vol.  II.,  p. 
372. 


120          Japanese  Miscellany 

In   Tokyo  to-day  the  little  dragon-fly  hunters 
usually  sing  the  following:  — 

Tombo!  tombo! 

O -toman !  — 
Ashita  no  ichi  ni, 
Shiokara  kote, 

Neburasho ! 

Dragon-fly  !  dragon-fly  !  honorably  wait  !  —  to-mor 
row  at  the  market  I  will  buy  some  shwkara  and  let  you 
lick  it ! 

Children  also  find  amusement  in  catching  the 
larva  of  the  dragon-fly.  This  larva  has  many 
popular  names ;  but  is  usually  called  in  Tokyo 
taiko-musbi,  or  "  drum-insect,"  because  it  moves 
its  forelegs  in  the  water  somewhat  as  a  man 
moves  his  arms  while  playing  upon  a  drum. 

A  most  extraordinary  device  for  catching 
dragon-flies  is  used  by  the  children  of  the  prov 
ince  of  Kii.  They  get  a  long  hair,  —  a  woman's 
hair,  —  and  attach  a  very  small  pebble  to  each 
end  of  it,  so  as  to  form  a  miniature  "bolas"; 
and  this  they  sling  high  into  the  air.  A  dragon 
fly  pounces  upon  the  passing  object;  but  the 


Dragon-flies  121 

moment  that  he  seizes  it,  the  hair  twists  round 
his  body,  and  the  weight  of  the  pebbles  brings 
him  to  the  ground.  I  wonder  whether  this 
method  of  bolassing  dragon-flies  is  known  any 
where  outside  of  Japan. 


Buddhist  Names  of  Plants 
and  Animals 


Buddhist  Names  of  Plants 
and  Animals 

* 

AT  one  time  I  hoped  to  compile  a  glossary  of 
the  Buddhist  names  given  to  Japanese 
animals  and  plants ;  and  I  began  to  col 
lect  material  for  the  work.  But  I  then  knew  very 
little  about  the  real  difficulties  of  such  an  under 
taking.  To  mention  only  one,  I  may  observe 
that  in  almost  every  province  of  Japan  the  folk- 
speech  is  different ;  and  the  difference  appears 
even  in  the  names  given  to  certain  plants,  insects, 
reptiles,  fishes,  and  birds.  Such  names  must  be 
learned,  of  course,  from  the  lips  of  peasants  and 
of  fishermen;  and  that  which  I  wished  to  do 
could  never  be  well  done  except  through  the 
patient  labors  of  a  folklore  society.  And  now  I 
find  that,  instead  of  being  able  to  prepare  the 
glossary  intended,  I  must  content  myself  with  a 
few  general  notes  upon  the  subject. 
125 


126  Japanese  Miscellany 

But  perhaps  these  notes  —  relics  of  an  under 
taking  for  which  I  possessed  neither  the  requisite 
scholarship  nor  the  means  —  will  have  at  least 
a  suggestive  worth  to  future  explorers  in  this 
unfamiliar  region  of  Far-Eastern  folklore. 


The  name  Buddha  appears  in  the  appellations 
of  several  trees  and  plants.  Marubiislmkan,  or 
"  Round -Fingers-of- Buddha,"  is  the  name  of  a 
kind  of  lemon-tree,  —  so  called  from  the  very  re 
markable  shape  of  its  fruit.  The  Chinese  hibis 
cus  is  called  Bussoge,  or  "  Buddha's  mulberry"  ; 
and  a  variety  of  rock -moss  is  popularly  known 
by  the  picturesque  names  of  Hotohe-no-tsume 
and  Bukhoso,  —  both  signifying  "  Finger-nails  of 
Buddha."  A  kind  of  yam  is  called  Tsttkune-imo f 
-which  appellation,  as  written  with  the  proper 
Chinese  characters,  signifies  "  Buddha's-hand  po 
tato  "  ;  and  a  variety  of  clover  is  honored  by  the 
name  Hotoke-no-^a,  or  "  Buddha's-throne." 

Names  of  Bodhisattvas  and  of  other  Buddhist 
divinities  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  appellations 
of  plants  and  animals.  The  name  of  Kwannon 
(Avalokitesvara)  appears  in  the  term  Kwannon- 


Buddhist  Names  127 

chiku,  or  "  Bamboo  of  Kwannon  " ;  and  several 
different  plants  are  known,  in  different  provinces, 
by  the  name  Kwannon-so,  or  "  Herb  of  Kwan 
non."  The  name  of  Fugen  (Samantabhadra) 
has  been  given  to  a  variety  of  cherry-tree,  —  the 
Fugen-^ahura,  or  "  Fugen's  cherry-tree."  The 
name  of  Dai-Mokukenren  (Mahamaudgalyayana), 
—  shortened  by  popular  usage  into  Mokuren,  — 
figures  both  in  the  common  appellation  of  the 
Fiats  pumila,  known  as  Mokuren,  and  in  that  of 
the  Magnolia  conspicua,  usually  called  Haku- 
mokuren,  or  "  White-Mokuren."  The  name  of 
Brahma,  —  known  to  Japanese  Buddhism  as  Bon- 
ten, —  appears  in  the  designation  of  a  kind  of 
upland  rice,  Bonten-mai.  The  memory  of  B6- 
dai-Daruma  (Bodhidharma)  is  preserved  in  the 
popular  appellation  of  the  Aster  spatufolium, 
called  Daruma-gihu,  or  "  Daruma's  chrysanthe 
mum," —  as  well  as  in  the  name  of  the  swamp- 
cabbage,  Daruma-so,  or  "  Daruma's  plant."  Two 
fishes  also  have  been  named  after  this  patriarch : 
the  Priacanthus  Niphonius,  which  is  called  Da- 
ruma-dai,  or  "  Daruma's  sea-bream  "  ;  and  the 
Synanceia  erosa,  popularly  known  as  Daruma- 
hasago,  —  "kasago"  being  properly  the  name 
of  the  fish  scientifically  called  sebastes  inermis. 


128          Japanese  Miscellany 

More  curious  than  any  of  the  above  terms,  how 
ever,  is  the  popular  name  for  a  species  of  grain- 
weevil,  Koku^p,  —  "  Kokuzo  "  being  the  Japanese 
appellation  of  the  great  Bodhisattva  Akasapra- 
tishthita. 

The  term  Bosatsu  (Bodhisattva)  also  appears 
in  some  plant-names.  A  variety  of  rose  is 
known  as  the  Bosatsu-ibara,  or  "  Thorny-Rose 
of  the  Bodhisattva";  and  a  kind  of  rice  is 
called  Bosatsu. 

The  term  Rakan  (Arhat)  forms  a  prefix  to 
several  plant-names.  Rakan-baku,  or  "  Arhat's 
oak,"  is  the  popular  name  of  the  Thuya  dolo- 
brata.  Rakan-sbo,  or  "  Arhat's  Pine,"  is  the 
common  appellation  of  the  Podocarpus  macro- 
pbylla;  and  the  name  Rakan-maki,  or  "  Arhat's 
maki"  ("maki"  being  the  Japanese  name  for 
the  podocarpus  cbinensis)  —  has  been  given  to 
the  umbrella-pine.  And  the  fruit  of  a  tree,  of 
which  I  cannot  find  the  scientific  name,  is  called  in 
several  provinces  Rakan,  or  "  the  Arhat,"  because 
it  curiously  resembles  in  shape  the  rude  stone 
images  of  Arhats  set  up  in  temple-gardens. 

Kukai,  or  Kobodaishi,  the  great  Japanese  patri 
arch  of  the  Shingon  sect,  also  has  a  place  in  this 


Buddhist  Names  129 

nomenclature.  Kobo-miigi,  or  "  Wheat  of  Kobo- 
daishi,"  is  a  common  name  for  the  Car  ex  mac- 
rocepbala ;  and  a  variety  of  chestnut  is  called 
KobodaisU  -  kawa^u  -no-kuri,  —  "  The  Chestnut 
that  Kobodaishi  did  not  eat." 

Many  names  of  plants  or  living  creatures  refer 
to  Buddhist  customs,  legends,  rites,  or  beliefs. 
The  word  bo^u,  "  priest "  -  (the  origin  of  our 
word  "bonze") — has  been  attached  to  several 
plant-names.  No  less  than  three  different  herbs 
are  known,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  by 
the  name  of  Boqugusa,  or  "  Priest-grass."  In 
the  dialect  of  Chikuzen  a  kind  of  turtle  is  called 
Umi-bo^u,  or  "Priest  of  the  Sea,"  —  a  name, 
by  the  way,  also  given  to  a  mythical  marine- 
monster,  often  represented  in  Japanese  picture- 
books.  The  name  of  the  famous  Bo-tree  of 
Buddhist  tradition  has  been  given  in  Japan,  not 
only  to  the  Ficus  religiosa,  but  also  to  the 
Tilia  miqueliana,  popularly  called  Bodaiju 
(Bodhidruma).  The  great  Buddhist  festival  of 
the  spring-equinox,  the  festival  of  the  Higan, 
or  "  Further  Shore,"  has  furnished  names  for 
two  plants  which  blossom  about  that  time,  —  the 
Higan-^akura  or  "  Higan  cherry-tree  "  (Prunus 
9 


130          Japanese  Miscellany 

miqueliana),  and  the  Higan-bana,  or  "  Flower 
of  Higan"  (Lycoris  radiata).  What  we  term 
" Job's  Tears"  are  in  Japan  called  Zu^udama, 
or  Buddhist  rosary -be  ads ;  and  a  kind  of  dove 
is  known  —  probably  because  of  its  markings 
—  as  the  Zuqukake-bato,  or  "  Rosary-bearing 
Dove."  The  Allium  mctoriale  is  called  Gyoja- 
ninnihu,  or  "  Hermit's  garlic  "  ("  gyoja  "  being 
the  Buddhist  term  for  hermit)  ;  and  the  popu 
lar  Japanese  name  for  the  Bleeding-heart  is 
Keman-so,  or  "  Keman-htrb,"  —  an  appellation 
probably  due  to  the  resemblance  of  the  flower 
to  the  Keman,  or  decoration,  placed  upon  the 
head  of  the  statue  of  Buddha.  Perhaps  the 
water-arum  has  the  most  curious  of  all  such 
Buddhist  appellations :  its  Japanese  name,  Koku- 
%en-so  literally  signifies  the  "  Small-sitting-in- 
Dhyana-meditation-plant. " 

The  word  Sennin,  —  commonly  translated  as 
"  Genius  "  or  "  Fairy,"  but  originally  meaning 
Rishi,  —  a  being  who  has  acquired  supernatural 
power  and  unlimited  life  by  force  of  ascetic 
practices,  —  occasionally  appears  in  plant-names. 
A  variety  of  Clematis  is  known  as  Sennin-sd, 
or  "  Fairy-weed " ;  and  a  kind  of  cactus  has 


Buddhist  Names  131 

received  the  grotesque  appellation  of  Sennln-sho, 
or  uSennin's-Palm,"  —  the  palm  of  the  hand 
being  referred  to. 

The  Sanscrit  term  Yaksha,  signifying  a  man- 
devouring  demon,  appears  in  several  plant-names 
under  its  Japanese  form,  —  Yaslm.  The  cone 
of  the  Aldus  firma  is  picturesquely  called  Yasha- 
busbi,  or  "  Yaksha's-joint " ;  and  a  water-plant 
is  known  by  the  curious  name  of  Yasha-bishaku, 
or  "  Yaksha's  Ladle." 

Very  many  Japanese  names  of  vegetables, 
birds,  fishes,  and  insects,  have  attached  to  them 
as  a  prefix  the  word  Oni,  a  Buddhist  term  for 
"demon"  or  " devil,"  —  just  as  in  English  folk- 
speech  we  have  such  names  for  plants  and  insects 
as  "  Devil's-apron,  "  "  Devil-wood,"  "  Devil's- 
fingers,"  "  Devil's-horse,"  and  "  Devil's- darning- 
needle."  The  tiger-lily  is  known  in  Japan  by 
the  equally  fantastic  name  of  Qni-yuri,  or 
"  Devil-lily."  A  species  of  coix  is  called  Oni- 
%u%udama,  or  "  Devil's  rosary-beads."  The 
bur-marigold  is  called  Oni-bari,  or  "  Devil's 
needle " ;  and  a  water-weed,  injurious  to  lotos- 
cultivation,  is  popularly  termed  the  Oni-basu, 
or  "  Demon-lotos."  This  prefix  of  Oni  is  prob- 


132          Japanese  Miscellany 

ably  attached  to  hundreds  of  folk -names  of  flora 
and  fauna :  I  have  myself  collected  no  less  than 
seventy -one  examples.  Nevertheless,  few  of 
them  are  interesting. 

The  word  Kijin,  or  Kishin,  signifying  a  kind 
of  goblin  recognized  by  Japanese  Buddhism,  is 
similarly  used  as  a  prefix ;  —  for  example,  a  sort 
of  needle-grass  is  known  as  Kisbin-so,  or  "  Gob 
lin-weed."  Kijo,  another  Buddhist  word  signi 
fying  a  kind  of  female  goblin,  appears  in  the 
common  name  of  an  orchid,  —  Kijoran,  or 
"  Goblin-orchid."  Also  there  is  a  prefix,  Ki,  - 
abbreviation  of  a  term  for  demon  or  goblin, — 
which  sometimes  figures  in  plant-names :  the 
Pardantbus  clnnensis,  for  instance,  is  called  in 
Japan  Kisen,  meaning  "  Goblin-fan."  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  these  devilish  names  are 
given  to  vegetables  or  to  animals,  not  merely 
because  of  some  ugly  or  extraordinary  shape, 
but  even  because  of  remarkable  size.  Thus  a 
species  of  lark  is  called  Oni-Ubari,  or  "  Demon - 
lark,"  because  it  happens  to  be  a  much  larger  bird 
than  the  common  field-lark ;  and  a  very  large  kind 
of  dragon-fly  is  designated  for  the  same  reason 
Qni-yamma,  or  "  Demon- dragonfly." 


Buddhist  Names  1?? 

Many  Buddhist  names,  both  of  creatures  and 
of  plants,  are  ghostly.  A  pretty  green  grass 
hopper  is  called  Hotoke-uma,  or  "the  Buddha- 
horse  " ;  —  the  head  of  the  insect  curiously 
resembling  the  head  of  a  horse  in  shape.  But 
the  word  hotoke  also  means  the  spirit  of  a  dead 
person,  —  all  good  persons  being  supposed  by 
popular  faith  to  become  Buddhas ;  —  and  the  real 
meaning  of  the  name  Hotoke-uma  is  "The  Horse 
of  the  Dead."  Now  during  the  great  three-days' 
Festival  of  the  Dead  in  the  seventh  month,  it 
is  believed  that  many  spirits  revisit  their  homes, 
or  their  former  friends,  either  with  the  help  of 
insects  or  actually  in  the  form  of  insects.  The 
name  of  this  grasshopper  really  implies  that  it  is 
used  as  a  horse  by  the  shadowy  visitors.  .  .  . 
Again,  we  find  the  word  sboryo,  —  a  general  term 
for  the  spirits  of  ancestors  worshipped  according 
to  Buddhist  rite,  —  coupled  with  the  name  of  a 
dragon-fly:  Shoryo-yamma,  "the  Dragon-fly  of 
the  Ancestral  Spirits."  Sborai-tombo,  or  "  Ghost 
Dragon-fly,"  and  Ki-yamma,  a  term  of  similar 
meaning,  are  names  likewise  intended  to  suggest 
the  relation  of  the  insect  to  the  invisible  world. 
Equally  weird  is  the  name  by  which  the  mole- 
cricket  is  known  in  the  dialect  of  Kyoto,  —  a 


134          Japanese  Miscellany 

name  probably  suggested  by  the  creature's  under 
ground  life, —  Shorai-mushi,  or  "  Ghost  -insect." 
Among  appellations  of  plants  one  finds  also  such 
terms  as  Yurei-dake,  or  "  Ghost-bamboo,"  and 
Yurei-bana,  or  "  Ghost -flower,"  —  the  latter 
name  being  not  inappropriately  given  to  a  species 
of  delicate  mushroom. 

Some  of  the  Buddhist  names,  although  highly 
interesting  in  themselves,  could  not  be  understood 
by  the  Western  reader  without  the  help  of  picto 
rial  illustration,  because  they  have  reference  to  the 
furniture  of  temples,  or  to  particular  articles  used 
in  Buddhist  religious  service.  Such,  for  example, 
is  the  name  of  a  tree  popularly  known  as  Sanko- 
matsu,  or  "  Sanko-pine  "  ;  —  the  term  "  Sanko  " 
(Sanscrit,  Vadjra)  signifying  a  brass  object,  — 
shaped  much  like  the  classic  representation  of  a 
thunderbolt,  with  prongs  at  either  end,  —  which 
priests  use  in  certain  rites  as  a  symbol  of  super 
natural  power.  Such  also  is  the  name  Hossugai, 
or  "  //ossw-shell,"  given  to  the  beautiful  glass- 
sponge,  Hyalonema  Sieboldii,  because  of  its  re 
semblance  to  the  "  hossu,"  —  a  brush  or  duster  of 
long  white  hair  used  in  Buddhist  religious  service. 
And  such,  again,  is  the  excellent  name  of  a  little 


Buddhist  Names  135 

insect  called  the  Koromo-semi,  or  "  Priest's-robe 
cicada,"  because  the  general  form  and  color  of 
the  creature,  when  resting-  with  closed  wings, 
really  suggest  the  figure  of  a  priest  in  his 
"  koromo."  But  unless  you  had  seen  the  insect, 
and  the  kind  of  "  koromo  "  thus  referred  to,  you 
could  not  appreciate  the  graphic  worth  of  the 
appellation. 

Very  remarkable  Buddhist  names  have  been 
given  to  some  species  of  birds.  There  is  a  bird, 
known  to  ornithologists  as  Eurystomus  orientalis, 
which  is  called  Bupposo,  because  its  cry  resembles 
the  sound  of  the  word  Bupposo.  This  word  is  a 
Japanese  equivalent  for  the  Sanscrit  term  Triratna 
or  Ratnatraya, — "Three  Jewels";  —  the  syl 
lable  Bu  standing  for  Butsu,  "  the  Buddha  "  ; 
pd,  for  ho,  "the  Law"  ;  and  so,  for  "the  Priest 
hood."  The  bird  is  also  called  Sambocho,  or 
"the  Sambo-bird  ";  —  the  word  "  Sambo"  being 
a  literal  translation  of  Triratna.  Another  bird, 
of  which  I  do  not  know  the  scientific  appellation, 
is  called  the  Jilnshincho,  or  "  Compassionate- 
Mind-Bird,"  —  because  its  call  resembles  the 
utterance  of  the  phrase  Jibi-shin,  "  Compassion 
ate  Mind,"  which  forms  one  of  the  epithets  of 


126          Japanese  Miscellany 

the  Buddha.  "  This  bird."  my  informant  writes, 
lives  only  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nikko,  where 
in  the  summer  it  may  be  heard  continually  crying 
out,  *  O  thou  Compassionate  Mind !  —  O  thou 
Compassionate  Mind ! '  "  .  .  .  Almost  equally 
interesting  is  the  common  Buddhist  name  for  the 
bototogisu  (Cuculus  polioctpbjlus} ,  a  species  of 
cuckoo  much  celebrated  by  Japanese  poets.  It  is 
called  Afujd-Jtiri,  or  -'the  Bird  of  Imperma- 
nency."  This  name  would  not  appear  to  be 
derived  from  the  bird's  note,  which  is  popularly 
interpreted  as  '•  Hon^on  kjk<taka  ? "  —  meaning. 
'•  Has  the  bonbon  yet  been  suspended  ?  "  ^The 
"  honzon "  is  the  sacred  picture  displayed  in 
temples  upon  the  eighth  day  of  the  fourth  month, 
—  a  little  before  the  time  at  which  the  bird  makes 
its  annual  appearance.)  It  seems  to  me  more 
probable  that  the  name  was  given  in  the  significa 
tion,  "  Bird  of  Death  "  ;  —  for  the  word  mil  jo  has 
also  the  meaning  of  death  as  change ;  and  this 
meaning  is  strongly  suggested  by  the  strange  fact 
that  the  bototogisu  is  supposed  to  come  from  the 
spirit-world.  It  is  also  called  Tama-mukae-dori, 
or  the  "  Ghost -welcoming  Bird,"  because  it  is 
said  to  meet  and  to  greet  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
on  their  journey  over  the  Mountain  of  Shide  to 


Buddhist  Names  137 

the  River  of  Souls.  There  are  many  ghostly 
legends  and  fancies  about  the  fatotogisu :  and 
this  weird  folklore  sufficiently  explains  why  the 
bird  is  known  in  the  provinces  by  no  less  than 
fifty-two  different  names! 

The  uguisu,  a  variety  of  nightingale,  and  the 
sweetest-voiced  of  all  Japanese  singers,  does  not 
appear  to  have  an}'  popular  Buddhist  name ;  but 
its  flute-like  call  is  said  to  be  an  utterance  of 
the  word  Hokhekyo,  whkh  is  the  popular  name 
for  the  Saddharma-Pundarika- Sutra,  —  the  grand 
scripture  of  the  Nichiren  or  Hokke  sect.  And 
Buddhist  piety  asserts  that  the  bird  passes  its  life 
in  chanting  the  praise  of  the  Sutra  of  the  Lotos  of 
the  Good  Law.  So  that  the  uguisu  is  really  re 
garded  as  a  Buddhist  bird.  Another  bird  whkh 
seems  to  have  some  relation  to  Buddhism  is  the 
snowy  heron,  to  which  the  extraordinary  appella 
tion  of  Bonno-sagi,  or  "  Bonno-heron,"  has  been 
given.  "  Bonno"  is  a  Buddhist  term  for  worldly 
desire,  lust,  passion ;  and  I  am  not  able  to  say 
why  it  appears  in  the  name  of  the  bird. 

The  difficulty  of  guessing  at  the  origin  of  these 
Buddhist  names  cannot  even  be  imagined  without 
the  help  of  examples.  The  literal  meaning,  in 


138          Japanese  Miscellany 

many  cases,  serves  only  to  mislead  investigation. 
For  instance,  the  hammer-headed  shark  is  known 
on  parts  of  the  Kyushu  coast  by  the  extraordi 
nary  appellation,  Nembutsu-bo ,  or  "  Nembutsu- 
Priest."  The  word  Nembutsu  is  the  name  of  the 
invocation,  "  Namu  Amida  Butsu !  "  -  (Saluta 
tion  to  the  Buddha  Amitabha  !)  —  uttered  by  the 
pious  of  many  sects  as  a  prayer,  and  especially  as 
a  pray  erf  or  the  dead.  The  grim  suggestiveness 
of  the  name  Nembutsu-bo  reminded  me  that  the 
modern  French  word  for  shark  is,  according  to 
Littre,  only  a  corruption  of  "  Requiem," — the 
appellation  originally  implying  (as  stated  by  Pe're 
Dutertre  in  1667)  that  for  the  man  caught  by 
a  shark  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  except  to 
chant  his  requiem.  But  I  was  wrong  in  imagin 
ing  that  the  Buddhist  name  Nembutsu-bo  implied 
something  of  the  same  kind.  The  real  meaning 
of  the  term  is  proved  by  another  Buddhist  name 
for  the  same  monster,  —  Shumoku-^ame,  or 
"  Sbumoku-shzrk."  The  word  "  Shumoku  " 
signifies  a  peculiar  "  T  "-shaped  mallet  with 
which  the  priest  strikes  a  gong  during  the  repe 
tition  of  the  Nembutsu  and  of  other  prayers. 
(I  may  observe  that  the  same  kind  of  mallet  is 
used  to  sound  a  gong  during  the  chanting  of  the 


Buddhist  Names  139 

Nembutsu,  in  some  pious  households,  before  the 
family  shrine.)  It  was  this  use  of  the  mallet 
and  gong,  during  the  repetition  of  the  invoca 
tion,  that  suggested  the  term  Nembutsu-bo  as 
an  alternate  name  for  the  Slmmoku-^ame,  or 
"  Mallet-shark  ;  "  —  and  the  true  signification  of 
Nembutsu-bo  is  not  "  The  Nembutsu-Priest," 
but  "The  Priest  with  the  Mallet." 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 

* 

UNDER  the  influence  of  twenty -seven 
thousand  public  schools  the  old  folk- 
literature  of  Japan,  the  unwritten  litera 
ture  of  song  and  tradition,  is  rapidly  passing  out 
of  memory.  Even  within  my  own  recollection 
one  variety  of  this  oral  literature,  partly  corre 
sponding  to  our  own  literature  of  the  nursery,  has 
been  greatly  affected  by  the  new  order  of  things. 
When  I  first  came  to  Japan  the  children  were 
singing  the  old  songs  which  they  had  been  taught 
by  their  grandfathers  and  grandmothers,  —  the 
home-teaching  being  usually  left  to  the  grand 
parents.  But  to-day  the  little  folk,  at  play  in  the 
streets  or  in  the  temple-courts,  are  singing  new 
songs  learned  in  the  class-room,  —  songs  set  to 
music  written  according  to  the  Western  scale  ;  — 
and  the  far  more  interesting  pre-Meiji  songs  are 
now  but  seldom  heard. 

143 


144          Japanese  Miscellany 

As  yet,  however,  they  are  not  entirely  for 
gotten,  —  partly  because  many  of  them  are  in 
separably  connected  with  games  that  cannot  be 
suddenly  superseded,  —  partly  because  there  are 
still  alive  some  millions  of  delightful  grandfathers 
and  grandmothers  who  never  studied  under 
organ-playing  schoolmasters,  and  who  like  to 
hear  the  children  repeat  the  ditties  of  long  ago. 
But  I  suppose  that  after  these  charming  old  peo 
ple  have  been  gathered  to  their  ancestors,  most  of 
the  songs  which  they  taught  will  cease  to  be  sung. 
Happily  the  Japanese  folklorists  have  been  exert 
ing  themselves  to  preserve  such  unwritten  litera 
ture  ;  and  their  labors  have  enabled  me  to  attempt 
the  present  paper. 

Out  of  a  great  number  of  the  old-time  child - 
songs  and  nonsense- verses,  carefully  copied  and 
translated  for  me,  I  have  endeavored  to  make  a 
fairly  representative  selection,  —  grouping  all  the 
examples  under  six  subject -titles,  in  the  following- 
order  :  - 

I.  —  Songs  of  Weather  and  Sky. 

II.  — Songs  about  Animals. 

III. —  Miscellaneous  Play- Songs. 
IV.  —  Narrative  Songs. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    145 

V.  —  Battledoor  and  Ball  Songs. 

VI.  —  Lullabies. 

The  classification  is  very  loose,  especially  as  re 
gards  the  third  group ;  but  I  think  that  it  is  justi 
fied  by  the  strangely  indefinite  character  of  many 
compositions. 

Of  course  the  plain  English  renderings  can  give 
an  idea  of  the  Japanese  verses  only  as  flowers 
pressed  and  dried  between  the  leaves  of  a  book 
can  represent  the  living  blossoms  in  their  natural 
environment.  The  queer  rhythm  of  the  rhyme- 
less  lines,  the  naivete  of  the  Japanese  words,  the 
curious  little  airs,  —  difficult  to  memorize  as 
bird-warblings,  —  and  the  sweet  freshness  of 
many  child- voices  chanting  in  unison  :  these  help 
to  make  the  true  charm  of  the  original  song,  and 
all  are  equally  irreproducible. 

A  good  deal  of  the  exotic  may  be  discovered  in 
these  cullings ;  but  the  reader  will  occasionally 
find  something  to  remind  him  of  familiar  nursery- 
rhymes.  Children,  all  the  world  over,  think  and 
feel  in  nearly  the  same  way  on  certain  subjects, 
and  sing  of  like  experiences.  In  almost  every 
country  they  sing  about  the  sun  and  the  moon,  - 
about  wind  and  rain,  —  about  birds  and  beasts,  — 

about  flowers  and  trees  and  brooks ;  —  also  about 
10 


146          Japanese  Miscellany 

such  daily  household  duties  as  drawing  water, 
making  fire,  cooking  and  washing.  Yet  1  believe 
that,  even  within  these  limits,  the  differences 
between  Japanese  child -literature  and  other  child- 
literature  will  be  found  more  interesting  than  the 
resemblances. 


SONGS   OF  WEATHER   AND   SKY 

(Tokyo  Sunset-song.) 

Yu-yake  ! 

Ko-yake ! 

Ashita  wa  tenki  ni  nare. 

Evening-burning  ! 
Little  burning ! 
Weather,  be  fair  to-morrow ! l 

(Kite-firing  song  —  Province  of  Iga.) 

Tengu  San, 
Kaze  ok ure  ! 
Kaze  ga  nakera 
Ze'ni  okure' ! 


1  This  little  song  is  still  sung  by  the  children  In  my  neighborhood 
whenever  a  beautiful  sunset  occurs. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    147 

Tengu  San  [Lord  Mountain-Spirit} , 
Please  to  give  me  some  wind ! 
If  there  be  no  wind, 
Please  give  some  money ! l 


(Rain-song — Province  of  Tosa.) 

Ame,  ame,  furi-yame ! 
O-tera  no  mae  no 
Kaki  no  ki  no  moto  de 
Kiji  no  ko  ga  nakuzo ! 

Rain,  rain  !  stop  falling  !  —  At  the  foot  of  the  kaki-tree 
in  front  of  the  temple,  the  young  of  the  pheasant  is  crying  ! 


(Snow-song —  Province  of  Iga.) 

Yuki  \va  chira-chira ! 
Kumo  wa  hai-darake ! 

Snow  is  fluttering,  —  chira-chira  ! 
The  clouds  are  full  of  ashes  ! 2 

1  In  Tokyo  the  little  kite-flyers  usually  sing,  — 

Kaze  no  kami  wa 

Yowai  na  ! 

("  Ah  !  the  God  of  the  Wind  is  weak  to-day  !  ")    In  Izumo  they  sing,— 
Daisen  no  yama  kara 
O-Kaze  fuete  ! 

Koi  yo ! 
("Come,  August- Wind,  and  blow  from  the  mountain  Daisen  !  ") 

2  White  ashes  of  wood  are  referred  to. 


148          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Province  offytmo.) 

Yuki  ya ! 

Konko  ya ! 

Arare  ya ! 

Konko  ya ! 
Omae  no  sedo  de 
Dango  mo  nieru, 
Azuki  mo  nieru, 
Yamado  wa  modoru, 
Akago  wa  hoeru, 
Shakushi  wa  miezu, 
Yare  isogashiya  na ! 

Snow-grains  !  hail-grains  !  —  In  your  kitchen  dumplings 
are  boiling;  beans  too  are  boiling;  the  huntsman  is  return 
ing  ;  the  baby  is  squalling ;  the  ladle  is  missing !  —  0  what 
a  flurry  and  worry  ! 

(Star-song  —  Province  of  Iga .) 

-  Hoshi  San,  Hoshi  San  ! 
Hitori-boshi  de  de'nu  monja; 
Sen  mo,  man  mo  deru  monja. 

—  Mr.  Star,  Mr.  Star  ! 
For  a  single  star  to  rise  alone  is  not  right ; 
Even  a  thousand,  even  ten  thousand  should  rise  together  !  * 


1  Sung  when  the  first  stars  begin  to  twinkle  after  sundown. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     149 

(Moon-song  —  Province  of  Shiiiano.) 

O-Tsuki  Sama, 
Kwannon-do  orite, 
Mamma  agare ! 
—  Mamma  wa  iya-iya : 
Ammo  nara  mitsu  kuryo ! 

—  0  Lady  Moon, 

Come  down  from  over  the  Temple  of  Kwannon, 
And  help  yourself  to  some  boiled  rice  ! 

—  Rice  ?  no  !  I  do  not  like  rice. 

But  if  you  have  ammocbf,1  let  me  have  three  ! 

(Province  of  Kit.) 

—  O-Tsuki  Sama,  ikutsu  ? 

—  Jiu-san  hitotsu. 

—  Sorya  mada  wakai  •. 
Waka-bune  e  notte, 
Kara  made  watare 

—  Lady  Moon,  how  old  are  you  ? 

—  Thirteen  and  one. 
—  That  is  still  young : 

In  the  Ship  of  Youth  embarking, 
Cross  over  the  sea  to  China ! 


Rice-cakes  stuffed  with  a  mixture  of  sugar  and  bean-flour. 


150          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Province  of  Tos&.) 

—  O-Tsuki  Sama 
Momo-iro ! 

-  Dare  ga  iuta  ? 

-  Ama  ga  iuta. 

-  Ama  no  kuchi  wo 
Hikisake  ! 

—  0  Lady  Moon,  your  face  is  the  color  of  a  peach  !  — 
Who  said  so  ? —  A  nun  said  so.  —  Pinch  and  tear  the  mouth 
of  that  nun ! 

(Province  of  Suwo.) 

O-Tsuki  Sama, 
O-Tsuki  Sama, 
Moshi !  moshi !  — 
Neko  to  nezumi  ga, 
Issho-daru  sage'te, 
Fuji-no-yama  wo 
Ima  koeta ! 

O  Lady  Moon  ! 

0  Lady  Moon ! 

1  say  !  I  say  ! 

A  cat  and  a  rat, 

Carrying  a  one-sho  barrel  [of  sake], 

The  Mountain  of  Fuji 

Just  now  crossed  over ! l 


1  Sung  when  a  cloud  passes  over  the  Moon.     The  cat  and  the  rat 
ire  playful  goblins,  of  course,  —  such  as  figure  in  children's  picture- 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    1?1 
II 

SONGS  ABOUT  ANIMALS1 

OF  child-songs  about  insects  and  reptiles,  birds 
and  beasts,  the  number  is  surprising,  —  almost 
every  Japanese  village  having  one  or  two  songs 
of  its  own  belonging  to  this  class.  The  great 
majority  are  brief  compositions  of  from  two  to 
eight  lines.  Some  of  the  better  ones  recall  Eng 
lish  nursery- rhymes  on  kindred  topics,  —  such 
nursery-rhymes,  for  example,  as,  "  Bat,  bat, 
come  under  my  hat !  "  —  "  Lady-bird,  lady-bird, 
fly  away  home!"  —  "Cuckoo,  cuckoo,  what 
do  you  do?"  —  "A  pie  sat  on  a  pear-tree," 
etc.,  etc.  Very  probably  several  of  the  fol 
lowing  selections  are  older  than  most  of  our 
nursery-rhymes.  Variants  of  nearly  all  exist  in 
multitude. 


1  See  also,  for  a  small  collection  of  Izumo  songs  relating 
to  natural  history,  the  chapter  "  In  a  Japanese  Garden,"  in 
my  Glimpses  of  Unfamiliar  Japan. 


books.    The  purpose  of  the   song  is  to  make  the  Moon  peep  out 
again. 

An  Izumo  moon-song,  more  interesting  than  any  of  these,  will  be 
found  in  my  Kokoro,  pp.  75-76. 


Japanese  Miscellany 

(Dove-song —  Tokyo.) 

Hato 
Poppo ! 
Mame  ga  tabetai.1 

"  Poppo"  says  the  dove,  —  "  I  want  to  eat  some  beans." 
(Crow-song —  Tokyo.) 

Karasu ! 
Karasu ! 
Kanzaburo ! 
Oya  no  on  wo  wasurena  yo ! 

O  crow!   O  crow!    Kanzaburo!2  —  never  forget  the 
goodness  of  your  parents ! 

(Owl-song—  Tokyo.) 

Gorosuke-hoko 
Muda-boko ! 

Gorosuke's  service,  useless  service ! 


1  Or  huetai. 

2  Kanzaburo  is  a  very  common  form  of  masculine  proper  name,  — 
here  probably  given  to  the  bird  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  sound.  — 
The  song  was  no  doubt  suggested  by  the  old  proverb,  Karasu  ni  bampo 
no  ko  ari  :  "  The  filial  duty  of  feeding  one's  parents  is  known  even  to 
the  crow."     It  is  said  that  the  old  crows,  unable  to  forage  for  them 
selves,  are  fed  by  their  offspring.  —  Children  sing  this  song  when  they 
see  the  crows  flying  home  at  sundown. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    1?? 

(Bird-song  —  Province  of  Ise.) 

Suzume  wa,  Chu-Chu-Chuzaburo! 
Karasu  wa,  Ka-Ka-Kanzaburo! 
Tombi  wa,  Toyama  no  kanetataki ! 
Ichi  nichi  tataite  ;  — 

Kome  issho ! 

Awa  issho ! 

As  for  the  sparrow,  — Chu-Chu-Chuzaburo, 

As  for  the  crow,  —  Ka-Ka-Kanzaburo ; 

As  for  the  kite,1  —  the  Bell-ringer  of  Toyama: 

All  day  he  taps  his  bell, 

[Crying]  Rice,  one  sho!2 
Millet,  one  sbo! 

The  personal  names  Kanzaburo,  Chuzaburo, 
and  Gorosuke,  are  common  names  of  men.  No 
doubt  that  the  sparrow's  sharp  cry,  resembling  the 
sound  cbu,  first  suggested  the  use  of  the  name 
Chuzaburo  in  the  foregoing  nursery-rhyme ;  and 
the  crow  was  probably  called  Kanzaburo  because 
its  caw  sounds  like  the  syllable  Ka.1  But  there 

1  Another  version  reads,  "  Tobi  wa,  To-T6-T6zaburo."     Tozaburo, 
like  Chuzaburo  and  Kanzaburo,  is  a  real  name. 

2  One  sbo  is  equal  to  about  a  quart  and  a  half. 


1  I  may  observe  also  that  the  crow  is  popularly  said  to 
cry,  Kcmoa!  kawa !  ("  River  !  river!"),  —  meaning,  "Let 
us  go  to  the  river  !  "  The  sound  of  the  cawing  really  re 
sembles  the  sound  of  the  word  Kawa. 


154          Japanese  Miscellany 

is  a  curious  legend  about  the  name  given  to 
the  owl,  —  Gorosuke.  A  long  time  ago,  in  the 
house  of  some  great  samurai,  there  was  a  retainer 
called  Gorosuke.  This  Gorosuke  was  naturally 
dull ;  and  the  very  first  time  that  a  duty  of 
importance  was  confided  to  him,  he  made  such 
a  blunder  that  serious  mischief  resulted.  There 
fore  everybody  laughed  at  him,  and  put  him  to 
shame ;  and  at  last  he  killed  himself.  Then  his 
spirit  took  the  form  of  the  little  owl  which  now 
bears  his  name ;  and  all  night  long  this  owl  cries 
out,  in  a  tone  of  utter  despair,  — 

"  Gorosuke' s  service ! 
Useless  service ! " 

(Hare-sang —  Tokyo.) 

"  Usagi,  usagi, 
Nani  wo  mite  haneru  ?  " 
"  Jiu-go-ya  no  O-Tsuki  Sama 
Mite  haneru ! 
Hyoi! 
Hyoi!" 

—  "Hare,  hare!  what  do  you  see  that  makes  you 
jump  ? "  —  "  Seeing  the  Lady-Moon  of  the  fifteenth  night,  I 
jump  !  —  Hyoi !  hyoi !  "l 


1  At  the  words  "  hyoi !  hyoi !  "  all  the  singers  jump  together. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 

(Sparrow-song —  Tokyo.) 

Suzume  no  atsumari : 
On-'i,  chi-'i — pappa! 
Dare  ni  atattemo 
Okoruna  yo ! 
Okorunara  hajime  kara 
Yoran  ga  yoi. 

Hear  the  gathering  of  the  sparrows!  —  ^'-*,  chi-'i,— 
pappa!1  —  Be  not  so  angry  with  everybody  who  hap 
pens  to  touch  you  !  Better  in  the  beginning  not  to  have 
come  at  all,  than  to  get  angry  thus ! 

(Song  about  the  wUte  heron  —  Province  of  Ise.) 

Shirosagi,  shirosagi, 
Naze  kubi  ga  nagai  ? 

—  Hidarute  nagai. 

-  Hidarukya  ta  ute. 

—  Ta  ucha,  doro  ga  tsuku. 

—  Doro  ga  tsukya,  harae. 

—  Haraya,  itai. 

—  White-heron,  white-heron!  why  is  your  neck  so 
long?  —  Because  of  hunger  it  became  long.  —  If  you  are 
hungry,  go  and  till  the  rice-field.  —  I  should  get  muddy  if  I 
were  to  till  the  rice-field.  —  If  you  get  muddy,  you  can 

1  Chi-'i  is  an  onomatope  invented  to  describe  the  angry  chirping  of 
the  sparrow ;  pappa  signifies  the  sound  of  the  quick  flapping  of  its 
wings. 


l£6          Japanese  Miscellany 

brush  the  mud  off.  —  If  I  should  brush  myself,  it  would 
hurt  me ! 

(Toad-song — Province  of  Tosa.) 

Hiki-San,  Hiki  San,  dete  gonse 
Denya  mogusa  sueru-zo ! 

Toad,  toad,  come  out  of  your  hole !  If  you  don't  come 
out  I  shall  give  you  a  moxa ! 

(Kite-song  —  Province  ofl^umo.) 

Tobi !  tobi !  maute  mise ! 
Ashita  no  ban  ni, 
Karasu  ni  kakushite, 
Nezumi  yam ! 

Kite  !  kite  !  let  me  see  you  dance  !  To-morrow  even 
ing,  without  letting  the  crows  see  it,  I  shall  give  you  a  rat ! 

( Bat-song  —  Province  of  I^umo . ) 

Komori,  koi !  sake  nomasho ! 
Sake  ga  nakya,  taru  furasho. 

Bat,  come  hither,  and  you  will  drink  some  sake!  If 
there  be  no  sake  [ready],  I  will  pour  out  some  from  the 
barrel. 

(Firefly-song —  Province  of  I{umo.) 

Hotaru  koi  midzu  nomasho : 
Achi  no  midzu  wa  nigai  zo ; 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    1?7 

Kochi  no  midzu  wa  amai  zo ; 
Amai  ho  e  tonde  koi ! 

Firefly,  come  hither,  and  you  shall  have  water  to  drink  ! 
Yonder  the  water  is  bitter ;  —  here  the  water  is  sweet ! 
Come,  fly  this  way,  to  the  sweet  side ! 

(Firefly-song  —  Province  of  he.} 

Hotaru,  koi ! 
Tsuchi-mushi,  koi ! 
Onoga  hikari  de 
Jo  mottekoi ! 

Firefly,  come  hither  ! 
Earth-insect,1  come ! 
By  your  own  light 
Bring  me  a  letter  ! 

( Tokyo.) 

O-wata,  koi !  koi ! 
Mame  kuwasho ! 
O -mamma  ga  iyanara, 
Toto  kuwasho ! 

Come  here,  o-wata ! 2  come  here  !  I  will  give  you  beans 
to  eat.  If  there  be  no  boiled  rice,  then  I  will  give  you  some 
fish. 


1  Tsuchi-musbi,  literally,  is  "earth-insect"  or  "earth-worm  ";  but 
in  this  little  song  it  probably  means  "  glow-worm." 

2  The  name  "  o-wata  ''  (honorable  cotton)  is  given  to  a  small  purplish 
fly  having  a  fluffy  white  protuberance  on  its  tail,  resembling  a  tuft  of 
cotton. 


1?8          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Butterfly-song .) 

Chocho!  chocho! 
Na  no  ha  ni  tomare  ! 
Na  no  ha  ga  iyenara, 
Te  ni  tomare ! 

Butterfly !  butterfly  !  light  upon  the  «<z-leaf !  *  If  you 
do  not  like  the  «#-leaf,  perch  upon  my  hand  ! 

(  Tokyo  Song.) 

Chocho,  tombo  mo, 

Tori  no  uchi, 

Yama  saezuru  no  wa, 

Matsumushi, 

Suzumushi, 

Kutsuwamushi, 

O-Mko  cbo'i  no  cho'i! 

The  butterfly,  and  the  dragon-fly,  too,  at  the  house  of 
the  bird.  Oh,  the  twittering  in  the  mountains  !  The  Pine- 
Insect,  the  Bell-Insect,  the  Bridle-bit-Insect  all  together,— 
O-choko  cho'i  no  cho'i  ! 

(Sung  by  children  chasing  dragon-flies.) 

Achi  e  yuku  to, 
Yemma  ga  niramu ; 

1  The  name  na  is  given  to  several  different  kinds  of  vegetables ; 
but  the  Japanese  turnip  is  probably  here  referred  to. —  This  song  is 
sung  in  nearly  all  parts  of  Japan. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    1J9 

Kochi  e  kuru  to, 
Yurushite  yaru  zo. 

—  If  you  go  that  way,1  Yemma  [or  Emma]  will  glare  at 
you  !  —  if  you  come  this  way,  I  promise  to  forgive  you  ! 


(Dragon-fly-song  —  Tokyo.) 

Shio  ya  ! 
Kane  ya  ! 
Yamma  kaese  !  2 

Salt  Dragon-fly  !  —  Black  Dragon-fly  !  —  give  us  back 
the  Big  Dragon-fly  ! 


(Snail-song  —  Tokyo.) 

Maimaitsubura  ! 
O-yuya  no  mae  ni 
Kenkwa  ga  aru  kara 
Tsuno  dase,  yari  dase  ! 

O  snail  !  there  is  a  fight  in  front  of  the  bath-house  :  so 
put  out  your  horns,  put  out  your  spears  ! 


1  Yama,  King  of  Death. 

2  This  song  is  very  old.      Some  account  of  the  insects  referred  to 
will  be  found  in  the  preceding  paper  on  dragon -fl ie s ! 


160          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Frog-song  —  Tokyo.) 

Kaeru  ga 

Naku  kara  kaero ! 
Since  the  frogs  are  crying,  I  shall  take  leave.1 

(Snail-song  —  Province  of  Shtnano.) 

Tsubu,  tsubu,  yama  e  yuke. 
—  Orya  iya  da  !  —  ware  yuke  ! 
Kyonen  no  haru  mo  ittareba, 
Karasu  to  mosu  kurodori  ga, 
Achi  e  tsutsuki  tsun-mawashi, 
Kochi  e  tsutsuki  tsun-mawashi ;  - 
Ni-do  to  yukumai  ano  yama  e  ! 

—  River-snail,  river-snail,  go  to  the  mountain  !  —  I  ?  not 
I  !  Go  yourself  if  you  want  to  !  When  I  went  there  in  the 
spring  of  last  year,  the  black  bird  that  is  called  "  crow" 
pecked  me  and  turned  me  over  on  one  side,  and  then  pecked 
me  again  and  turned  me  over  on  the  other  side.  Not  twice 
do  I  go  to  that  mountain  ! 

(Song  about  the  cicada  called  Tsuku-tsuku-boshi12  —  Province 
of  Chiku^en.) 

Tsuku-tsuku-bo-San  na, 
Nanyu  naku  ka  ?  - 

1  In  this  little  song  there  is  a  play  on  the  word  kaeru,  which,  as 
pronounced,  might  mean  either  "to  return"  or  "frog."    Kaero  is  a 
future  form  of  the  verb. 

2  See  article  "  Semi  "  in  my  Shadowing*,  for  some  account  of  this 
curious  insect. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    161 

Oya  ga  nai  ka? 
Ko  ga  nai  ka  ? 
—  Oya  mo  gozaru, 
Ko  mo  gozaru ; 
Oitoshi  tonogo  wo 
Mottareba, 
Takajo  ni  torarete ; 
Kyo  nanuka. 
Nanuka  to  omoeba  — 
Shijiu-ku  nichi ! 
Shijiu-ku  nichi  no 
Zeni-kane  wo 
Doshite  tsukotana 
Yokaro  ka  ? 
Takai  kome  kote, 
Fune  ni  tsumu  ; 
Yasui  kome  kote, 
Fune  ni  tsumu. 
Fune  wa,  doko  fune  ? 
Osaka-bune. 
Osaka-bune  koso 
Ne  ga  yokere. 

—  Tsuku-tsuku-bo-San,  wherefore  do  you  cry  ?     Have 

you  no  parents  ?  —  have  you  no  children  ?  —  Parents  I  have, 

children  also  I  have ;  but  my  good  husband  was  snatched 

away  from  me  by  a  falconer ;  and  to-day  is  the  seventh  day 

11 


162          Japanese  Miscellany 

since  his  death.  Nay  —  I  thought  it  was  the  seventh  day,  — 
it  is  already  the  forty-ninth  ! l  What  will  be  the  best  way 
to  spend  the  money  of  the  forty-ninth  day  ?  —  Buying  dear 
rice,  to  freight  a  ship ;  —  buying  cheap  rice,  to  freight  a  ship. 

—  As  for  the  ship,  where  is  it  from  ?  —  It  is  an  Osaka  ship. 

—  Ah  !  the  cost  of  an  Osaka  ship  is  indeed  very  high  ! 


Ill 

MISCELLANEOUS   PLAY-SONGS 

OF  play-songs,  —  songs  to  be  sung  with  vari 
ous  out-door  or  in-door  games,  —  the  number  is 
very  great :  my  own  collection  includes  upwards 
of  two  hundred  pieces.  Some  take  the  form  of 
stories ;  others,  of  dialogues ;  others  belong  to 
that  class  which  the  French  call  chanson  enu- 
meratwe,  or  randonnee  :  a  few  are  impossible  to 
classify.  And  some  of  the  most  remarkable  are 
so  very  queer,  —  so  utterly  unlike  anything  sung 
by  Western  children,  —  that  any  translation  of 
them  would  remain,  even  with  the  aid  of  a 
multitude  of  notes,  unintelligible  to  readers  un 
familiar  with  Japanese  life.  But  I  think  that 
the  following  series  of  examples  will  sufficiently 


1  There  is  a  reference  here  to  the   Buddhist  services  for  the  dead 
held  on  the  seventh  and  forty-ninth  days  after  interment. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     163 

serve  to  indicate  the  oddity   and  the  variety  of 
this  category  of  child-songs. 


(Sung  to  a  crying  child.) 

Naki-mushi !  ke-mushi ! 
Hasande  sutero ! 

Cry-Insect !  —  Hairy-Insect !  [i.  e.,  Caterpillar]  — with  a 
pair  of  chop-sticks  we  will  throw  you  out  of  doors  !  * 

(Sung  to  a  child  afraid  of  being  away  from  borne.) 

Inoru !  inoru ! 
Inagasaki  ni  oni  ga  iru ! 
Ato  miriya  ja  ga  iru  ! 

Wants  to  go  home  !  —  wants  to  go  home !  On  the 
going-home  way2  a  demon  is  waiting;  and  if  you  look 
behind  you  will  see  a  dragon  ! 

(Dance-song.) 

Renge  no  hana  hiraita, 
Hiraita,  hiraita ! 
Hiraita  to  omotara 
Yatokosa  to  tsubonda ! 


1  Alluding  to  the  Japanese  method  of  catching  and  removing  a 
centipede,  caterpillar,  or  other  unpleasant  visitor,  with  a  pair  of  iron 
chop-sticks,  or  fire-tongs. 

2  There  is  a  play  upon  words  here  not  possible  to  render  in  English. 


164          Japanese  Miscellany 

The  Lotos-flower  has  opened,  has  opened,  has  opened !  — 
Even  as  I  thought  that  it  had  opened,  —  lo  !  yatokosa !  —  it 
has  closed  up  again  ! l 

(P  lav-song.) 

Umeboshi-San 
To  in  hito  wa, 
Ashi  kara  kao  made 
Shiwa-yotte !  — 

Shiwa-yotte'  ! 
Are  wa  sui, 
Kore  wa  sui,  — 

Sui,  sui,  sui ! 

The  person  called  Mr.  Pickled-Plum  is  wrinkled  all  over 
from  feet  to  face, —  wrinkled  all  over  !  Sour  on  that  side  ! 
sour  on  this  side  !  —  sour,  sour,  sour  ! 

(Play-song.) 

Chinkan-chinkara ! 
Kajiya  no  ko ; 
Hadaka  de  tobidasu, 
Furoya  no  ko 2  .  .  . 


1  This  Song  of  the  Lotos  is  sung  by  a  company  of  children  who 
form  a  circle,  or  dancing-round,  all  holding  hands,  and  facing  inwards. 
As  the  song  begins  the  circle  is  slowly  widened ;   but  at  the  word 
yatokosa  all  run  in  together,  —  closing  up  the  round  with  a  simultaneous 
pull. 

2  This  appears  to  be  a  fragment  of  some  "enumerative  song,"  in 
which  different  trades  and  occupations  are  referred  to. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 

Clink !  clank  !  —the  child  of  the  blacksmith  ! 
Jumping  out  naked  —  the  child  of  the  bath  house  ! 


(Play-song.) 

"  Kaji-don !     Kaji-don  ! 

Hi  hitotsu  goshare  !  " 
"  Hi  wa  nai,  nai  ya  ! 

Ano  yama  koete, 

Kono  yama  koete, 

Hi  wa  koko,  koko  ni  aru ! " 

"Sir  Smith!     Sir  Smith  ! 
Please  give  us  a  little  fire." 
"  Fire  I  have  none,  none  at  all. 
Crossing  over  that  mountain, 
Crossing  over  this  mountain, 
Fire  then  you  will  find  here."  * 


(Dance-song.) 

Naka  no,  naka  no 
Kobotoke  wa, 
Naze  mata  kaganda  ? 
Oya  no  hi  ni 
Ebi  tabete, 

1  This  song  is  sung  in  accompaniment  to  an  ingenious  and  difficult 
finger-play,  —  not  altogether  unlike  our  nursery-game  of  "Dance, 
Tbumbkitit  dance!"  —  but  much  more  complicated;  both  hands  being 
used. 


166          Japanese  Miscellany 

Sore  de  mata 
Kaganda. 

—  The  little  Buddha  in  the  middle  [of  the  dancing-circle], 
the  little  Buddha  in  the  middle,  —  why  does  he  remain  thus 
always  bent?  —  On  the  anniversary  of  his  parents'  death, 
he  ate  shrimps : 1  therefore  he  remains  thus  always  bent. 

(Another  version.) 

Mawari,  mawari  no 
Kobotoke  wa, 
Naze  se  ga  hikui  ? 
Oya  no  hi  ni 
Toto  kutte, 
Sore  de  se  ga 
Hikui  so  na. 

—  The  little  Buddha  in  the  middle  of  the  dancing-round, 
the  little  Buddha  in  the  middle,  —  why  is  his  stature  thus 
low? — Having  eaten  fish  upon  the  anniversary  of  his 
parents'  death,  therefrom  his  stature  remains  low. 

(Centipede-dance  —  Province  of  Kit.) 

Yurasu  ya  mukade ! 
Atama  wa  cha-usu ; 
O  wa  hiko-hiko  yo ! 

1  On  the  anniversary  of  a  parent's  death,  and  during  the  Festival  of 
the  Dead,  no  good  Buddhist  should  eat  fish  of  any  kind. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     167 

The  centipede  moves  —  shivery-shaky  i  The  head  is 
like  a  rice-mortar;  —  the  tail  goes  hiko-hiko  [wiggle- 
waggle]  ! l 


(Dance-song — l^umo .) 

Jizo-San !    Jizo-San ! 
Omae  no  mizu-wo 
Dondo  to  kunde, 
Matsu-ba  ni  irete, 
Makkuri-kaeta ! 2 

Jizo-San,  Jizo-San  !  plentifully  drawing  the  water  of 
your  well,  round  and  round  we  stir  it  with  pine-leaves,  until 
it  spills  over. 


(Hand-play  song.) 

Ichi  ga  saita, 
Ni  ga  saita, 
San  ga  saita, 
SU  ga  saita, 
Go  ga  saita, 


1  This  Centipede-Dance  is  performed  by  a  number  of  children  in 
line,  —  each  grasping  the  girdle  of  the  one  before  him  ;  while  the  leader 
holds  in  his  hand  some  object  shaped  like  a  tea-mortar,  to  represent 
the  centipede's  head.    The  real  tea-mortar  would  probably  prove  much 
too  heavy  for  the  sport. 

2  This  is  usually  sung  by  little  girls.    The  singers  at  first  stand 
face  to  face,  in  couples,  holding  hands  as  they  sing.    At  the  words 
"  makkuri-kacta,"  they  turn  about,  without  loosing  the  clasp,  so  as  to 
come  back  to  back. 


168          Japanese  Miscellany 

Roku  ga  saita, 
SbicM  ga  saita, 
Hachi  ga  saita, 
/ft/mabachi  ga  saita, 
Tokage  ga  saita ! 

One  stings  !  [here  one  child  lays  his  right  hand  upon  the 
right  hand  of  a  playfellow]  —  two  stings  !  [left  hand  upon 
the  right]  —  three  stings  !  [left  hand  upon  the  left]  — four 
stings  !  [undermost  right  hand  brought  up  and  laid  on] 
—five  stings  !  [same  manreuvre  by  the  other  player]  —six 
stings!—  seven  stings!  — the  BEE1  stings!  [here  the  one 
whose  hand  is  uppermost  pinches  the  other's  hand]  — the 
WASP  stings  !  [retaliation]  — the  LIZARD  bites  !  [a  very  hard 
pinch.] 

(Game-song.) 

"  Koko  wa  doko  no  hoso-michi  ja  ?  " 
"Tenjin-San  no  hoso-michi  ja." 
"  Chotto  toshite  kudanshanse ! " 
"  Goyo  no  nai  mono  toshimasenu." 
"  Tenjin-San  e  gwan-kakete, 
Ofuda  osame  ni  mairimasu." 
"  Omae  no  uchi  wa  doko  jaina  ?  " 
"  Hakone  no  o-seki  degozarimas." 
"  Sonnara  toyare,  toyare ! 


i  Hacbi,  as  pronounced,  may  mean  either  "  eight"  or  "  bee." 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     169 

Yuki  wa  yoi-yoi 
Kaeri  wakowai!" 


"  This  narrow  road,  where  does  it  go  ? "  — "  This  narrow 
road  is  the  Road  of  the  God  Tenjin."  —  "  I  pray  you,  allow 
me  to  pass  for  a  moment."  —  "  No  one  must  pass  who  has 
no  business  to  pass." — ''Having  made  a  vow  to  the  God 
Tenjin,  I  want  to  pass  to  present  an  ofuda."  1  — "  Where  is 
your  house?" — "My  house  is  at  the  barrier2  of  HakoneV' 
— "  Pass,  then  !  pass  !  Going,  all  will  be  well  for  you ; 
but  coming  back  you  will  have  reason  to  be  afraid." 


( Game-song —  I^umo.) 

"  Kona  ko  yoi  ko  da ! 

Doko  no  ko  da  ?  " 

"  Tonya  Hachibei  no  otomusume." 

"  Nanto  yoi  ko  da  ! 

Kiyo  na  ko  da ! 

Kiyo  nl  sodatete 

Kita  hodo  ni 

Oya  ni  jikkwan, 

Ko  ni  go  kwan, 

Semete  O-Baba  ni 

Shijiu-go  kwan." 

1  Ofuda,  a  holy  text,  either  written  on  paper,  or  stamped  upon  wood. 

2  Hakone  no  seki.    There  used  to  be  a  military  guard-house  at 
Hakone,  where   all  travellers  had  to  give  an  account  of  themselves 
before  proceeding  further. 


170          Japanese  Miscellany 

"  Shijiu-go  kwan  no  o-kane  wo 

Nani  ni  suru  ?  " 

"  Yasui  kome  kote, 

Fune  ni  tsumi : 

Fune  wa  shirokane, 

Ro  wa  kogane. 

Saasa  ose-ose 

Miyako  made." 

"  Miyako  modori  ni 

Nani  morota  ? " 

"  Ichi-ni  kogai, 

Ni-ni  kagami, 

San-ni  sarasa  no 

Obi  morota." 

"  Kukete  kudasare, 

O-Baba  San !  " 

"  Kukyo  —  kukyo, 

To  omoedomo, 

Obi  ni  michikashi, 

Tasuki  ni  nagashi." 

u  Yamada  Yakushi  no 

Kane  no  o  ni." 

—  "  This  child  is  a  fine  child  !  —  whose  child  is  she  ? "  — 
"  She  is  the  youngest  daughter  of  Hachibei,  the  wholesale 
merchant."  — "  0  what  a  fine  child!  O  what  a  clever 
child !  Because  she  has  been  so  well  brought  up,  I  shall 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     171 

give  to  the  parents  ten  kwan,1  and  to  the  child  five  kwan, 
and  to  the  grandmamma  not  less  than  forty-five  kwan."  - 
"  With  so  much  money  as  forty-five  kwan,  what  will  you 
d0  ? "  — «  Cheap  rice  I  will  buy,  and  load  it  on  a  boat.  The 
boat  is  of  silver;  the  oar  is  of  gold.  .  .  Saasa!  ['  Hearty 
now  i  >]  — row  hard  till  we  get  to  the  Capital !  "  — "  What 
presents  have  you  brought  us  on  your  return  from  the 
Capital  ? "  —  "  Firstly,  a  hair-pin  of  tortoise-shell.  Secondly, 
a  mirror.  Thirdly,  a  girdle  of  sarasa"  2  —  "  Please  sew  it, 
grandmamma."  —  "  Though  1  thought  to  sew  it,  —though 
I  thought  to  sew  it,  it  is  too  short  for  a  girdle ;  it  is  too 
long  for  a  tasuki3-coYd"  —  "Then  I  will  offer  it  up  as 
a  bell-rope  for  the  bell  of  [the  temple  of]  Yakushi*  at 
Yamada." 


(Gatm-song,) 

"  Kozo,  kozo ! 

Ko  hitori  goshare !  " 

"  Dono  ko  ga  hoshikera  ?  " 

"  Ano  ko  ga  hoshii  wa." 

"  Nani  soete  yashinau  ?  " 


1  One  kwan  was  equal  to  a  thousand  copper-cash  in  old  times.  — 
The  value  of  the  present  given  to  the  grandmother  reminds  one  of  the 
fact  that,  in  a  Japanese  family,  the  early  training  of  the  children  is 
usually  left  to  the  grandparents,  and  especially  to  the  grandmother. 

2  Sarasa  is  a  kind  of  calico,  or  chintz. 

3  Tasuki,  a  cord  used  to  tie  back  the  long  sleeves  of  the  Japanese 
robe,  during  working-hours. 

*  Yakusbi  is  the  Japanese  form  of  the  name  Bbaishagyaraga.  (Bba- 
ishagyaraga  literally  signifies  "The  Medical  King.")  Yakushi,  or 
Yakusbi-Nyorai,  is  a  very  popular  Buddhist  divinity  in  Japan, — and 
is  especially  prayed  to  as  a  healing  Buddha. 


172          Japanese  Miscellany 

"  Tai  soete  yashinau." 

"  Sore  wa  hone  ga  atte  ikenu." 

"  Sonnara  tai  ga  hone  nara, 

Ika  soete  yashinau." 

"  Sore  wa  mushi  no  dai-doku." 

"  Sonnara  Tono-San  no  nikai  de 

Mosen  shiite  tenarai  sashozo." 

"  Te  ga  yogorete  ikenu." 

"  Sonnara  Tono-San  no  nikai  de 

Mosen  shiite  sato  mochi." 

"  Sonnara  yaruzo !  " 

"  Acolyte,  acolyte,  please  give  me  one  child  !  "  —  "  Which 
child  do  you  wish  to  have?" — "  That  child  I  want  to 
have."  —  "With  what  kind  of  food  will  you  feed  the 
child?"— "  With  to-fish  I  will  feed  the  child."  —  " That 
will  not  do, — there  are  too  many  bones."  —  "Then,  as 
there  are  too  many  bones  in  to-fish,  I  will  feed  the  child 
with  cuttle-fish."  —  "That  would  be  very  bad  for  the 
stomach  of  the  child."  —  "Then,  in  the  house  of  the 
lord,  upstairs,  I  will  spread  a  rug,  and  teach  the  child  to 
write." — "That  will  not  do:  it  would  make  the  child's 
hands  dirty."  —  "  Then  in  the  house  of  the  lord,  upstairs, 
I  will  spread  a  rug,  and  give  sugar-cakes  to  the  child."  — 
"  Very  well,  I  will  let  you  have  the  child." 

(New- Year  Song.) 

Senzo  ya !  manzo ! 
O-fune  ya  gichiri  ko, 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    173 

Gichiri,  gichiri,  kogeba, 
O-Ebisu  ka  ?    Daikoku  ka  ? 
Kocha  fuku  no  kami ! 

A  thousand  ships !  ten  thousand  ships !  Hear  the 
August  [Treasure-]  Ship  coming,  —  gichiri,  gichiri,  gichiri, 
as  they  row  !  Is  it  the  God  Ebisu  ?  is  it  the  God  Daikoku  ? 
—  Hither  come  the  Gods  of  Good  Fortune. 


(Old  Tokyo  Songs  of  the  Bon-Festival.) 
I 

Bon  no  jiu-roku  nichi 
A-sobasenu  oya  wa, 
Ki-Butsu,  Kana-Butsu, 

Ishi-Botoke ! 

Ishi-Botoke ! 

The  parents  who  will  not  let  their  children  play  on  the 
sixteenth  day  of  the  [month  of  the]  Bon-Festival,  —  they  are 
wooden  Buddhas,  —  they  are  metal  Buddhas,  —  they  are 
Buddhas  of  stone,  Buddhas  of  stone ! 

II 

Bon,  Bon,  Bon  no 
Jiu-roku  nichi, 
O-Emma  Sama  ye 
Maero  to  shitara, 
Zuzu  no  o  ga  kirete, 


174          Japanese  Miscellany 

Hanao  ga  kirete, 
Namu  Shaka  Nyorai ! 
Te  de  ogamu, 
Te  de  ogamu ! 

If  we  go  to  [visit  the  temple  of]  the  August  Lord  Emma,1 
on  the  sixteenth  day  of  the  Bon,  Bon,  Bon,  the  string  of 
the  praying  beads  having  been  broken,  and  the  thong  of 
the  sandal  having  been  burst,  Namu  Shaka  Nyorai!2  [we 
cry]>  —  and  pray  with  hands  joined,  and  pray  with  hands 
joined. 

Ill 

"  O-Bon  ga  kita  kara 
Kamiyute  okure." 
"Shimada  gayoi  ka? 
Karako  ga  yoi  ka  ? " 
"  Shimada  mo  iya  yo ! 
Karako  mo  iya  yo ! 
O-Edo  de  hayaru 
O-sage'-gami ! " 

"  Now  that  the  Bon-festival  has  come,  please  to  dress 
my  hair."  — "  Will  the  Sbimada-style  3  suit  you  ? —  or  will 

1  Yama,  the  King  of  Death.     His  festival  is  held  on  the  i6th  day  of 
the  ?th  month,  after  the  three  days'  Festival   of  the  Dead,  —  usually 
called  the  Bon. 

2  "  Hail  to  the  Tathagata,  Sakyamuni!  "  — an  invocation  uttered,  by 
the  members  of  certain  Buddhist  sects,  on  all  occasions  of  distress.  — 
It  is  believed  to  be  a  bad  omen  for  the  thong  of  one's  sandal  to  break. 

3  The  Sbimada-style  is  the  fashion  in  which  a  bride's  hair  is  dressed. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     17? 

the  Karako 1  style  suit  you  ? "  —  "  No,  I  will  not  have  my 
hair  dressed  in  the  Shimada-style,  nor  will  I  have  it  dressed 
in  the  Karako  style.  The  honorable  sage -garni 2  style  is 
now  the  fashion  in  the  noble  city  of  Yedo." 


IV 

Ichi  no  maru  koete', 
Ni  no  maru  koete, 
San  no  maru  saki  ye 
Hori-ido  hotte, 
Hori  wa,  hori-ido : 
Tsurube  wa  kogane ; 
Kogane  no  saki  ye 
Tombo  ga  tomatte ; 
Yare,  sore  tombo ! 
Sore,  sore  tombo ! 
Tobanakya  hane  wo 
Kirigirisu ! 
Kiriko  ga  toro, 
Kiriko  ga  toro ! 
Kiriko  ga  toro  wa, 
Donata  no  saiku  ? 

1  The  Karakowage  was  an  old-fashioned  style  of  coiffure,  —  prob 
ably  as  the  name  implies,  of  Chinese  origin  ;  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
term  being  "Chinese-child-coiffure." 

2  The  term  sage-gami  means  loose-flowing  hair.    Anciently  noble 
ladies  wore  their  hair  thus. 


176          Japanese  Miscellany 

O-Akashi  Sama  no 
O-te  zaiku, 
O-te  zaiku ! 

Crossing  the  innermost  line  of  fortification1,  —  cross 
ing  the  second  line  of  fortification,  —  at  the  end  of  the 
third  line  of  fortification  dug  a  well,  a  moat  and  a  well.  — 
The  well-bucket  is  of  gold.  On  the  top  of  the  golden 
bucket  a  dragon-fly  alighted.  Oh  !  that  dragon-fly  !  that 
dragon-fly  !  If  it  does  not  fly,  its  wings  shall  be  cut  off.2 
—  0  the  &W£o-lanterns  ! 3  —  0  the  /b'mo-lanterns  —  who 
made  the  kirtko-hnterns  ?  Our  august  Lord  Akashi  made 
them  with  his  own  august  hand,  with  his  own  august 
hand. 


Nagai,  nagai, 
Ryogoku-bashi  nagai ! 
Nagai  Ryogoku-bashi 
Suzumi  ni  detara, 
O-ko-sama-gata  ga 
Yakata  no  fune  de, 
Hikuya,  kataruya, 
Yare  omoshiroya, 


1  The   lines  of  defence  about  a  Japanese  castle  are  counted  from 
within  outwards. 

2  There  is  here  an  untranslatable  play  of  words, — the  term  kiri- 
girisu,  which  is  the  name  of  a  cricket,  being  used  for  the  verb  kiri,  to 
cut. 

8  This  is  given  to  a  kind  of  four-sided  or  polygonal  lantern. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    177 

Yare  omoshiroya ! 
Bon-odori ! 


Long,  long, — the  Ryogoku  bridge  is  long.  Had  you 
gone  there  to  get  cool,  on  the  long  Ryogoku  bridge,  oh  ! 
to  see  the  honorable  children  in  the  pleasure-boats,  and  to 
hear  the  musicians,  and  the  reciters  !  —  how  pleasant  it  was, 
how  pleasant! — and  the  festival  dance,  too,  —  the  Bon- 
Odori ! 


VI 

Yanagi  no  shita  no 
Oshidori-Sama  wa 
Asahi  ni  terarete, 
O-iro  ga  kuroi  ;— 
O-iro  ga  kurokirya 
Ganguri-gasa  o-sashi. 
Ganguri-gasa  iya  yo ! 
Ganguri-gasa  iya  yo ! 
O-Edo  de  hayaru 
Ja-no-me-gasa, 
Ja-no-me-gasa ! 

Under  the  willow-tree 

Sir  Mandarin-duck 

Being  shone  upon  by  the  morning  sun, 

His  honorable  color  is  dark. 

If  the  honorable  complexion  be  dark, 

12 


178          Japanese  Miscellany 

Spread  a  ganguri-umbrelfa.1 

A  ganguri-umbYelfa  I  will  not  have  ! 

A  ganguri-umbYe.\h  I  will  not  have  ! 

Now  in  the  honorable  city  of  Yedo,  is  fashionable 

The  Serpent's-Eye-umbrella,2 

The  Serpent's-Eye-umbrella. 


VII 

Konata  no  yashiki  wa 
Kirei  na  yashiki,  - 
Oku  no  ma  de  samisen, 
Naka  no  ma  de  odori  wo, 
Daidoko  ma  demo 
Fue  taiko !  f  ue  taiko ! 

This  residence  of  yours  is  a  fine  residence,  —  with  a 
samisen  playing  in  the  best  back-room,  and  dancing  going 
on  in  the  middle-room,  and  even  in  the  kitchen  a  flute  and 
drum,  a  flute  and  drum  ! 

( Tokyo  play-song.) 

"  Oyama  no, 
Oyama  no 


1  Ganguri-gasa.     I  do  not  know  what  kind  of  umbrella  was  thus 
called. 

2  A  paper  umbrella  painted  black,  all  but  a  band  some  four  or  five 
inches  from  the  top,  so  that  when  the  umbrella  is  opened,  this  white 
ring  with  the  black  space  which  it  encloses,  resembles  in  form  a  ser 
pent's  eye. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    179 

O-Kon  San  wa 

Doko  ittaka  ? " 

"  Tonari  e 

O-imo  tabeni  ikimashita." 

"  O-okashii !  o-okashii !  " 

"  O-Kon  San  of  Oyama  —  where  has  she  gone?"  — 
''She  went  next  door,  to  eat  some  potatoes." — "How 
very,  very  strange  !  —  how  very,  very  strange  !  "  1 

( Tokyo  play-song.) 

Muko  no  yama  no 
Sumotori-bana  wa 
Enyaraya  to  hikeba, 
O-te-te  ga  kireru,  — 
O-te-te  no  kireta 
O-kusuri  nai  ka  ? 
Aka  no  mo  aru, 
Shiroi  no  mo  aru. 
Onaji-ku  nareba 
Akai  no  ni  sho  yo  ! 

When  [with  a  cry  of\  Enyaraya  !  we  pull  the  violets  2  of 
yonder  mountain,  our  hands  get  torn.  —  Is  there  no  medi- 


1  This  song  belongs  to  a  game  of  hide-and-seek,  played  by  girls. 

2  Literally,  the  "  wrestler's-flower,"  —  so  called  because  of  a  game 
played  with  violet-flowers.    Two  children  each  take  a  violet,  twist  the 
heads  of  their  flowers  together,  and  pull  the  stalks  in  opposite  direc 
tions  until  one  of  them  breaks.    The  player  whose  violet  breaks  first  is 


180          Japanese  Miscellany 

cine  for  the  torn  hand?  Red  medicine  there  is,  and  also 
white.  —  If  the  two  medicines  are  equally  good,  then  I  shall 
certainly  take  the  red. 

(Dialogue  Song  —  Province  of  I^umo.) 

"  Muko  no  yama  no 
Kawazu  ga  naku  ga  ! 
Nashite  naku  ka  ? 
Samute  naku  ka  ? 
Himoji  te  naku-ka  ? 
Himojikya  ta  tsukure." 
"  Ta  tsukuriya  kitanai." 
"  Kitanakya  arae." 
"  Arauya  tsumetai." 
"  Tsumetakya  atare." 
"  Atarya  atsui." 
"  Atsukya  shizare." 
"  Shizara  nomi  ga  ku." 
"  Nomi  ga  kuya  korose." 
"  Korosha  kawai !  " 
"  Kawaikya  daitene." 
"  Daitenerya  nomi  ga  ku." 
"  Nomi  ga  kuya  korose."  .  .  . 
&c.,  &c. 


the  loser.  Perhaps  the  reader  will  be  reminded  of  our  "  wishing-bone  " 
sport ;  but  in  the  Japanese  play  the  flowers  are  supposed  to  represent 
wrestlers. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children     131 

"  The  frogs  of  yonder  mountain  cry.  Why  do  they 
cry  ?  Is  it  for  cold  that  they  cry  ?  Is  it  for  hunger  that 
they  cry?  If  you  are  hungry,  till  the  rice-field."  —  "It  is 
dirty  work,  to  till  the  rice-field."  — "  If  it  be  dirty  work, 
wash."  —  <(It  is  cold,  to  wash." — "If  it  be  cold,  warm 
yourselves  by  the  fire."  —  "It  is  too  hot  by  the  fire." — 
"If  it  be  too  hot,  go  further  away." — "  If  we  go  further 
away,  the  fleas  will  bite  us."  —  "  If  the  fleas  bite  you,  kill 
them."  — "It  is  too  pitiful  to  kill  the  poor  things."  —  "  If 
you  pity  them  so  much,  embrace  them,  and  sleep  with 
them." — "If  we  embrace  the  fleas  and  sleep  with  them, 
they  will  bite  us."  —  "If  the  fleas  bite  you,  kill  them," 
&c.,&c. 

By  far  the  strangest  thing  in  this  part  of  my 
collection  is  a  kind  of  metaphysical  dialogue, 
chanted  by  children  as  a  play-song  !  It  probably 
survives  from  the  period  when  the  teaching  of 
children  was  chiefly  intrusted  to  the  Buddhist 
priesthood,  and  when  almost  every  Buddhist 
temple  was  also  a  school,  or  had  some  kind  of 
a  school  attached  to  it.  There  is  nothing  very 
remarkable  about  the  composition  itself :  it  is 
only  the  choice  of  subject  —  an  astonishing  sub 
ject  for  a  play-song,  —  that  makes  the  thing  seem 
strange  to  a  Western  mind. 

This  subject  is  the  infinity  of  Jizo  Bosatsu  (the 
Bodhisattva  Kshitigarbha) ,  whose  smiling  images 
may  be  seen  by  almost  every  roadside,  and  in 


182          Japanese  Miscellany 

countless  Buddhist  cemeteries.  Often  at  cross 
roads,  and  still  more  often  in  graveyards,  you  will 
find,  instead  of  a  single  statue  of  Jizo,  six  images 
in  a  row,  —  each  figure  bearing  a  different  mys 
tical  emblem.  These  Six  Jizo,  or  Roku-Ji^p, 
symbolize  the  teaching  that  Jizo  Bosatsu,  self- 
multiplied,  at  once  exercises  his  saving  pity  in  all 
the  Six  Spheres  of  Sentient  Existence,  —  that  is 
to  say  throughout  the  entire  Universe  of  Forms. 
But,  according  to  the  higher  Buddhism,  "  there  is 
no  being  besides  Buddha,  and  no  Buddha  besides 
being."  All  the  Buddhas  and  the  Bodhisattvas 
are  veritably  but  One ;  —  all  substance,  all  life, 
all  mind  is  but  One.  And  Jizo  of  the  Six  States 
of  Existence  is  not  only  a  multiple  manifestation 
of  the  Absolute :  he  also  is  the  Absolute.  .  .  . 
To  find  these  conceptions  embodied  in  a  child's 
play-song  is  somewhat  startling ;  but  there  are 
many  things  quite  as  startling  to  be  met  with  in 
the  old  popular  literature  of  Buddhism  :  — 

(Province  of  Mutsu.} 

Hashi  no  shita  ni  Roku-Jizo 
Nezumi  ni  atama  wo  kajirarete, 
-  Nezumi  koso  Jizo  da  ! 
—  Nezumi  Jizo  dara, 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    183 

Nanishini  neko  ni  torarebena  ? 

—  Neko  koso  Jizo  yo  ! 

-  Neko  wa  Jizo  dara, 
Nanishini  inu  ni  torarebena  ? 

-  Inu  koso  Jizo  yo  ! 

—  Inu  wa  Jizo  dara, 
Nanishini  okami  ni  torarebena  ? 

—  Okami  koso  Jizo  yo  ! 

-  Okami  Jizo  dara, 
Nanishini  hi  ni  makarebena  ? 

—  Hi  koso  Jizo  yo ! 
—  Hi  wa  Jizo  dara, 

Nanishini  mizu  ni  kesarebena  ? 

—  Mizu  koso  Jizo  yo  ! 

—  Mizu  wa  Jizo  dara, 
Nanishini  hito  ni  nomarebena  ? 

—  Hito  koso  Jizo  yo  ! 

-  Hito  wa  Jizo  dara, 
Nanishini  Jizo  ogamubena  ? 

—  Hon  no  Jizo  wa  Roku-Jizo. 

—  The  heads  of  the  Six  Jizo  under  the  bridge  have  been 
gnawed  by  some  rat.  —  But  that  rat  itself  is  really  Jizo.  — 
If  the  rat  be  Jizo,  how  comes  it  that  the  rat  is  caught  by  a 
cat?  — The  cat  itself  is  really  Jizo.  — If  the  cat  be  Jizo, 
how  does  it  happen  that  the  cat  is  worried  by  a  dog  ?  — 
Truly  the  dog  itself  is  also  Jizo.  —  If  the  dog  be  Jizo,  how 
explain  the  fact  that  it  is  captured  by  a  wolf  ?  — The  wolf 


184          Japanese  Miscellany 

itself  is  certainly  Jizo.  —  If  the  wolf  be  Jizo,  why  should  it 
be  overcome  by  fire?  —  The  fire  indeed  is  also  Jizo. — If 
the  fire  be  Jizo,  why  should  it  be  extinguished  by  water  ?  — 
The  water  also  is  really  Jizo.  —  If  the  water  be  Jizo,  how 
explain  the  fact  that  it  is  drunk  by  mankind? — Mankind 
is  really  Jizo.  —  If  mankind  be  Jizo,  why  should  mankind 
pray  to  Jizo  ?  —  The  true  Jizo  is  the  Jizo  of  the  Six  States 
of  Existence  (lit. ,  "  the  trueji^o  is  the  Six-Ji^o  "). 


IV 

NARRATIVE-SONGS 

(Province  ofChbsJri.} 

Ora  ga  tonari  no  Semmatsu  wa, 
Omi  no  ikusa  ni  tanomarete, 
Ichi-nen  tatte  mo  mada  konai, 
Ni-nen  tatte  mo  mada  konai, 
San-nen  tattara  kubi  ga  kita. 

As  for  my  neighbor  Semmatsu, 

Having  been  engaged  for  the  war  in  Omi, 

Though  one  year  passed,  still  he  did  not  come  back ; 

Though  two  years  passed,  still  he  did  not  come  back 

When  three  years  had  passed,  his  head  came  back.1 

(Province  of  I^umo.) 

Muko  no  yama  ni 

Saru  ga  sambiki  tomatte ; 


1  Cut  off,  we  must  suppose. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 

Mae  no  saru  wa  mono  shirazu  ; 
Ato  no  saru  mo  mono  shirazu  ; 
Naka  no  ko-zaru  yo  mono  shitte. 
Gozare  tomodachi,  hana-mi  ni  yuko  ya  ? 
Hana  wa  doko  bana  ? 
Jizo  no  mae  no  sakura-bana. 
Hito-eda  oreba,  patto  chiru  ; 
Futa-eda  oreba,  patto  chiru  ; 
Mi-eda  ga  saki  ni  hi  ga  kurete. 
Dochi  no  koya  e  yado  toroka  ? 
Higashi  no  koya  e  yado  toroka  ? 
Minami  no  koya  e  yado  toroka  ? 
Tonosan  no  koya  e  yado  totte, 
Tatami  wa  mijikashi,  yo  wa  nagashi. 
Akazuki  okite  sora  mitara 
Gikko  no  bakko  no  kiisengo. 
Funedomo  saraete  ho  wo  kaketsu. 
Hokakebune  no  tsuri-mono  wa, 
Shiro-ori,  aka-ori,  aka-ji  no 
Majitta  tsuba-katana. 

In  yonder  mountain  three  monkeys  dwell.  The  first 
monkey  knows  nothing.  The  last  monkey  also  knows 
nothing.  But  the  midmost  little  monkey  knows  every 
thing  well.  —  Come,  friends,  let  us  go  to  see  the  flowers. 
—  Flowers?  where  are  the  flowers?  —  Before  the  statue 
of  Jizo  the  cherry-flowers  are  blooming.  As  I  break  one 


186          Japanese  Miscellany 

branch,  the  cherry-flowers  fall  scattering.  As  I  break  a 
second  branch  the  cherry-flowers  fall  scattering.  Before  I 
can  break  a  third,  the  darkness  comes.  —  In  what  dye-house 
shall  I  find  lodging?  Shall  I  take  lodging  in  the  eastern 
dye-house  ?  Shall  I  take  lodging  in  the  southern  dye- 
house  ?  —  Lodging  in  the  dye-house  of  the  Tono-Sama 
(lord),  the  mats  I  find  short,  and  the  night  long.  —  Awaking 
at  dawn,  if  I  see  the  sky  .  .  .  .*,  cleaning  out  the  ships, 
hoisting  the  sails.  The  sails  of  this  sailing-ship  are  of  white 
cloth  and  red ;  the  rigging  is  of  red  silk  cord  from  the 
variegated  hilts  of  swords.2 


(Province  of  I^umo.) 

Yare  haratatsu  !  —  tatsu  naraba ; 
Suzuri  to  fude  to  o-te  ni  motte, 
Omou  koto  wo  kaki-oi'te, 
Murasaki-ga  e  mi  wo  nageta. 
Shita  kara  zako  ga  tsutsuku  yara, 
Ue  kara  karasu  ga  tsutsuku  yara. 
Tsutsuita  karasu  wa  doko  yukita  ? 
Mori-ki  no  shita  e  mugi  maki  ni. 
Nan-goku,  nan-goku  maite  kita  ? 
Ni-sen-goku  maite  kita. 


1  Here  is  a  line  of  which  I  could  not  obtain  a  translation,  — gikko  no 
bakko  no  kiisengo.     Perhaps  the  text  is  corrupt. 

2  This  is  not  quite  literal  ;  but  it  is  certainly  the  original  meaning  of 
the  description.  —  There  are  a  great  many  songs  of  the  same  kind. 
Might  not  the  kind  be  described  as  an  imperfect  form  of  randonnee,  — 
a  randonnee  in  the  first  stage  of  evolution? 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    187 

Ni-sen-goku  no  no  ni  wa 
Tera  no  mae  de  ko  wo  unda. 
Juji  no  koromo  e  chi  ga  tsuite, 
Ame-tare-mizu  de  aratte, 
Koro  no  hi  de  abutte ; 
Koro  no  hi  ga  taraide, 
Abura-hi  de  abutte ; 
Abura-hi  ga  taraide, 
Kudo  no  hi  de  abutte ; 
Kudo  no  hi  ga  taraide, 
Kotatsu  no  hi  de  abutte. 

What  !  you  are  angry  ?  Ah  !  if  you  be  angry,  taking 
inkstone  and  writing-brush  in  your  honorable  hand,  think 
of  what  you  wish  to  write  and  to  leave  behind  you  !  1 
When  you  have  cast  your  body  into  the  Purple  River 
[Murasakt-gawa]  small  fishes  will  nibble  it  from  below; 
crows  will  pick  it  from  above.  —  The  crow  that  picked, 
where  is  it  gone  ?  —  It  has  gone  under  a  forest-tree,  to  sow 
wheat. —  How  many  koku,*  how  many  koku  have  been 
sown  ?  —  Two  thousand  koku  have  been  sown.  —  By  reason 
of  the  sowing  of  two  thousand  koku,  a  child  is  born  in 
front  of  the  temple.  —  The  upper  robe  of  the  chief  priest 
having  been  sprinkled  with  blood,  he  washed  it  in  rain 
water,  and  dried  it  by  the  fire  of  a  censer.  The  fire  in  the 
censer  being  insufficient,  he  dried  it  by  fire  of  oil.  The  fire 
of  oil  being  insufficient,  he  dried  it  by  the  fire  of  a  cook- 


1  Alluding  to  the  custom  of  writing  a  letter  to  explain  one's  motives, 
before  suicide. 

2  One  koku  is  equal  to  about  5.13  bushels. 


188          Japanese  Miscellany 

ing-range.    The  fire  of  the  cooking-range  being  insufficient, 
he  dried  it  by  the  fire  of  a  kotatsu.1 

(Province  of  IsL) 

Ne'ko  ga  Kuwana  e  mairutote ; 
Kuwana  no  michi  de  hi  ga  kie'te, 
Toboshitemo,  toboshitemo,  toboraide. 
Chaya  no  en  e'to  koshikakete, 

—  Mizu  wo  ippai  okurenka  ? 

—  Mizu  wo  yaru  no  wa  yasui  kedo, 
Tsurube  no  soko  ga  nukemashita. 

—  Yare,  yare  !  kitsui  ane-san  ja ! 
O-cha  wo  ippuku  okurenka  ? 

—  O-cha  wo  yaru  no  wa  yasui  kedo, 
Chagama  no  soko  ga  nukemashita. 

—  Yare',  yare  !  kitsui  ane-san  ja ! 
Tabako  wo  ippuku  okurenka  ? 

-  Tabako  yaru  no  wa  yasui  kedo, 
Kise'ru  no  kubi  ga  nukemashita. 


1  A  kotatsu  is  a  square  structure  ;  the  sides  and  top  being  formed  by 
wooden  bars  ;  and  the  lower  part  containing  a  metal  brasier,  or  warming- 
pan,  in  which  a  charcoal  fire  is  lighted.  Over  this  structure  heavy 
quilts  are  thrown  ;  and  a  number  of  persons  can  keep  themselves  warm 
by  sitting  round  the  kotatsu  with  their  knees  under  the  quilts.  The  size 
of  the  kotatsu  varies  from  about  one  foot  to  two  feet  square.  Diction 
aries  absurdly  describe  the  thing  as  "  a  kind  of  hearth."  It  is  not  a 
hearth  ;  but  in  Western  Japan  it  occupies  a  place  in  the  home  like  that 
of  the  hearth  with  us,  —  for  the  family  assemble  about  it  of  winter 
evenings. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    189 

—  Yare,  yare !  kitsui  ane-san  ja !  .  .  . 
Hi  —  fu  —  mi  —  yo  —  itsu  —  mu  —  nana  — 
ya  —  kono  —  to  ! 

A  cat  set  out  for  Kuwana.  On  the  road  to  Kuwana  her 
light  went  out.  Though  she  tried  and  tried  to  relight  it, 
she  could  not.  Then,  having  seated  herself  on  the  veranda 
of  a  tea-house,  she  asked :  —  "  One  cup  of  water  will  you 
not  kindly  give  me?"  —  "It  would  be  very  easy  to  give 
you  water ;  but  the  bottom  of  the  well-bucket  has  been 
taken  out."  —  "  Oh  !  oh  !  how  harshly  speaks  this  Elder 
Sister  ! l  Then  will  you  not  kindly  give  me  a  cup  of  tea?" 
—  "  To  give  you  some  tea  were  an  easy  matter ;  but  the 
bottom  of  the  tea-kettle  has  been  taken  out."  —  "  Oh  !  oh  ! 
how  merciless  this  Elder  Sister !  Then  will  you  not  let 
me  have  one  pipeful  of  tobacco  ?"  — "To  give  you  some 
tobacco  were  an  easy  matter;  but  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  has 
fallen  off  "  —  "  Oh  !  oh  !  what  a  merciless  Elder  Sister  !  " 

—  One  —  two  —  three  — four  — five  —  six  —  seven  — 
— nine  —  ten  !  2 


Of  course  the  cat,  in  the  foregoing  narration, 
is  a  goblin-cat,  —  a  cat  having  power  to  assume 
divers  shapes.  She  travels  in  human  form  ;  but 
this  disguise  is  penetrated  by  the  eye  of  the  tea 
house  servant,  who  answers  her  as  goblins  are 

1  "  Eider  Sister  "  is  still  the  title  of  courtesy  by  which  the  maid-ser 
vant  of  an  inn  is  addressed ;  but  the  form  Nesan,  a  contraction  of  Ane- 
san,  is  more  frequently  used. 

2  The  numbers  here  refer  to  a  game  played  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  song. 


190          Japanese  Miscellany 

answered.  ...  If  any  goblin  or  ghost  ask  you 
for  a  bucket  or  other  vessel,  it  is  better  not  to  re 
fuse  directly  ;  but  you  must  be  careful  to  knock 
the  bottom  out  of  the  vessel  asked  for  before 
yielding  it  up,  —  otherwise  the  consequences 
might  be  fatal. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  superficial  criticism 
sometimes  made  in  regard  to  those  European 
fairy-tales  which  recount  the  wooing  of  beautiful 
maidens  by  frogs  or  birds,  and  the  intermarriage 
of  different  species  of  animals.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  monstrous  absurdity  of  such  stories  un 
fits  them  for  the  perusal  of  children,  and,  further 
more,  deprives  them  of  all"  artistic  merit.  But 
most  of  these  fairy-tales  can  be  traced  back  to 
Oriental  sources  ;  and  to  the  Oriental  mind  there 
is  nothing  absurd  in  the  idea  of  marriage  be 
tween  human  and  non-human  beings,  —  since  it 
is  believed  that  many  animals  can  assume  human 
shapes  at  will.  To  Far-Eastern  faith  all  life  is 
One  ;  and  the  forms  that  enclose  it  but  tempo 
rary  conditions.  Without  some  knowledge  of 
Far-Eastern  beliefs,1  the  real  charm  of  the  old 


1  The  beliefs  are  older  than  Buddhism ;  but  Buddhism 
gave  them  considerable  recognition.    One  of  the  questions 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    191 

Japanese  fairy-tales  cannot  be  understood.  In 
any  event  they  should  be  read  in  translation  only 
when  illustrated  by  Japanese  artists.  The  il 
lustrations  will  explain  much  that  the  bare  text 
leaves  in  mystery. 

In  the  next  song  we  have  the  story  of  a 
serpent  assuming  the  shape  of  a  certain  man's 
daughter.  Stories  of  serpent- women  and  dragon- 
women  abound  in  Japanese  literature.  Probably 
both  this  song  and  the  preceding  one  were  in 
spired  by  the  memory  of  some  old  romance  or 
drama :  — 

( Province  of  Shinano . ) 

Muko  no  ozawa  ni  ja  ga  tatte,  — 

Hachiman-Choja  no  oto-musume. 

Yoku  mo  tattari  takundari, 

Te  ni  wa  nihon  no  tama  wo  mochi, 

Ashi  ni  wa  kogane  no  kutsu  wo  haki, 

A  yobe,  ko  yobe,  to  iinagara, 

Yama  kure  no  kure  ittareba, 

Kusakari  tonogo  ni  yukiatte, 

—  Obi  wo  kudasare,  tonogo-sama. 


formerly  to  be  asked  of  any  one  desiring  to  enter  the 
Buddhist  Order,  according  to  the  Vinaya  texts,  was  this: 
—  "  Are  you  a  human  being?" 


192          Japanese  Miscellany 

—  Obi  mo  kasa  mo  yasui  koto, 
Ore  no  nyobo  ni  naru-naraba : 
Asa  wa  okite  kami-yute. 

—  Hana  no  saku  made  nete  machi  yo ! 

From  the  swamp  beyond  there  rose  up  a  serpent,  in  the 
likeness  of  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Hachiman. 
Well  did  it  assume  that  form,  skilfully  standing.  Holding 
in  its  hands  two  gems,  and  wearing  upon  its  feet  shoes  of 
gold,  it  traversed  mountains  and  fields,  crying  out  the 
while-.— "Call  there!  — Call  here!"  Then  did  it  meet 
a  grass-cutter,  and  say  to  him  :  —  "Fair  husband,  deign  to 
give  me  a  girdle  !  "  — "To  give  you  [be  answered]  both  a 
girdle  and  a  hat  will  be  easily  done,  if  you  become  my 
wife.  Then  every  morning,  early  rising,  I  will  arrange 
your  hair."  —  Wait  then  [she  said], —  patiently  wait  until 
the  season  of  the  blooming  of  flowers." 


BATTLEDOOR-SONGS   AND 
BALL-SONGS 

IN  the  time  of  the  New-Year  holidays  the  streets 
are  made  beautiful  by  groups  of  young  girls 
playing  at  battledoor-and-shuttlecock,  or  at  vari 
ous  games  of  hand-ball.  It  were  difficult  to 
imagine  anything  more  charming  than  some  of 
these  little  maids  in  their  long-sleeved  and  many- 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children 

colored  holiday -costume :  only  the  most  radi 
ant  of  moths  or  butterflies  might  serve  for  a 
comparison.  Very  skilful  are  the  Tokyo  artists 
in  portraying  the  grace  and  the  daintiness  of 
them ;  and  every  year  these  artists  delight  us 
with  new  colored  prints  of  bevies  of  ball -players 
-  (showing  the  fashions  of  the  season) ,  —  or 
pictures  of  some  fairy-damsel  with  upturned 
smiling  face  and  shining  eyes,  and  flower-lips 
half-parted,  as  she  watches,  battledoor  in  hand, 
the  feathery  missile  in  its  course.  Yet  the  real 
ity  may  often  be  much  more  lovely  than  the 
picture.  And,  oh!  what  wonderful  battledoors 
are  sometimes  to  be  seen!  —  cushioned  at  the 
back  with  silk  mosaic- work,  making  the  dream 
of  a  landscape,  a  garden,  a  princess  of  ancient 
days! 

Yet  the  charm  is  not  visual  only ;  —  these  fair 
ies,  in  their  play,  sing  little  songs  of  strange 
rhythm  and  melody,  very  sweet  to  hear,  and  (for 
the  Western  listener)  impossible  to  remember. 

Many  of  these  queer  little  songs  are  so  con 
structed  that  the  first  syllable  of  each  successive 
line  or  phrase  corresponds  with  the  first  syllable 
of  a  numeral  noting  the  ordinal  place  of  the 
13 


194          Japanese  Miscellany 

line  or  phrase.  Most  commonly  the  Japanese 
numerals  are  used  :  —  Utotsu,  futatsu,  mitsu, 
yotsu,  itsutsu,  mutsu,  nanatsu,  yatsu,  hoko- 
notsu,  and  to.  But  in  various  examples  the 
Chinese  numerals  are  used  —  icln,  ni,  san,  sin, 
go,  roku,  shichi,  hachi,  hu,  jiu.  And  in  sundry 
compositions  the  two  sets  of  numerals  are  mixed 
together.  With  the  utterance  of  each  line  or 
phrase  the  shuttlecock  or  the  ball  ought  to  be 
struck  once.  The  term  oho  ("  even  number ") 
seems  usually  to  signify  ten  strokes;  —  but  this 
meaning  is  not  always  evident. 

( Tokyo  Battledoor-song.) 

Hiton  kina, 
Futan  kina, 
MM  yukina, 
Kotte  yukina ; 
Itsu  kite 
Mz/zukashi ; 
Nana  K^kushi, 
Koko  no  ma  de 
To  yo! 

Come,  one  !  come,  two  !  —  After  seeing,  go  !  —  After 
entering,  go  ! — Whenever  I  come  to  see  you,  your  face  is 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    195 

gloomy.  —  Seven  for  Yakushi!1  —  There  you  are! — ten 
with  the  stroke  of  nine! 


(Kyoto  Battledoor-song.} 

Hit  on  kin  a, 
Futan  kina, 
M/te  yukita, 
Volte  yukina ; 
Hsu  kite  mitemo 
Nanako  obi  wo 
Vflkuruma  ni  shimete. 
Kohono  yo  de  itcho  yo ! 

Come,  one  !  Come,  two  !  —  After  seeing,  departed ;  — 
after  entering,  go !  Whenever  I  come  to  see  you,  you 
put  on  your  Nanako  2-girdle,  tying  it  in  the  mode  called 
"  Eight  Wheels."  With  this  ninth  stroke,  one  cho  is 
completed. 

(Kyoto  Battledoor-song.) 

Hitomz, 
Put  ami, 
Myakashi, 
Vbmego, 
7/swya  no 


1  Yakushi-Nyorai  (Bbaisbagyaraga) ,  the  Healing  Buddha. 

2  Nanako  is  the  name  given  to  a  kind  of  heavy  twilled  silk  with 
wavy  lustre. 


196  Japanese  Miscellany 

Afeashi, 
Nanayz  no 
Yat  sushi,  — 
Kokono  ya ! 
To! 

One  eye-glance  !  —  two  glances  !  —  the  August  Lights 
[of  the  Gods]  I  —  the  Daughter-in-Law  !  —  the  Chequer- 
game  [sold  at  the  shop]  Itsuya !  —  the  dandy  [-clerk]  of 
the  shop  Nanaya  !  —  Nine  there  are  !  —  And  ten ! 

(Battledoor-song —  Province  of  Shmano.) 

Hi-yara  Hikobe ; 
Nakane  no  O-Toyo ; 
Sando-me  ni  makete, 
Abekobe  chinchikurin, 
Chinchikurin  no  chinchikurin ; 
Hitoko  nifutago, 
M/watasu  yomtgo, 
Itsu  kite  w/'temo,1 
Nanako  no  obi  wo 
Ya  no  ji  ni  shimete, 
Kono  ya  wo  /oru. 

There  goes  one,  Hikobe  !  —  O-Toyo  of  Nakane';  — three 
times  defeated ;  —  upside-down  now,  cbinchikurin !  —  chin- 


1  The  syllable  mi  of  mitemo  is  here  considered  to  be  an  equivalent 
for  mu,  the  first  syllable  of  mutsu,  "  six." 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    197 

chiknrin  !  and  chinchikurin  !  —  one  child  and  twins  ;  — 
bride  seen  far  away ;  whenever  I  go  to  see  her,  she  puts 
on  her  Nanako-obi  (taffeta  girdle),  tying-  it  in  the  form  of 
the  character  Ya,1  —  and  so  she  passes  before  this  house. 

Sometimes  the  names  of  ten  celebrated  temples, 
or  the  names  of  ten  divinities,  or  even  the  names 
of  the  months,  are  used  for  the  same  enumerative 
purpose,  —  as  in  the  following  examples  :  — 

(Tokyo  Ball-song .)  '2 

Ichi  ni  Ichibata  O-Yakushi  Sama  yo  ! 
Ni-niwa  Nihon  no  Nikko-Sama  yo ! 
San-ni  Sanuki  no  Kompira-Sama  yo  ! 
Shi-ni  wa  Shinano  no  Zenkoji-Sama  yo ! 
Itsutsu  Enoshima  Benten-Sama  yo ! 
Roku-ni  Rokkakudo  no  Kwannon-Sama  yo  ! 
Nanatsu  Nana-ura  no  Tenjin-Sama  yo[_! 
Yatsu  Yawata  no  Hachiman-Sama  yo ! 
Kokonotsu  Koya  no  Kobo-Sama  yo ! 
To  de  tokoro  no  Ujigami-Sama  yo ! 
Kaketa  gwan  nara  tokaneba  naranu ! 

The  first  time  for  the  August  Lord  Yakushi  of  Ichibata ; 
The  second,  for  the  Lord  Deity  of  Nikko  in  Japan ; 


1  The  Hiragana  character  "  ya  "  is  here  referred  to.  —  This  way  of 
tying  the  girdle  is  still  in  fashion,  and  is  still  called  the  "  Ya-no-ji  " 
manner. 

2  Variants  of  this  composition  seem  to  be  known  In  almost  every 
part  of  Japan. 


198          Japanese  Miscellany 

The  third,  for  the  Lord  Kompira  of  Sanuki ; 

The  fourth,  for  the  Lord  Buddha  of  Zenkoji  in  Shinano ; 

The  fifth,  for  the  deity  Benten  of  Enoshima; 

The  sixth,  for  the  deity  Kwannon  of  the  Rokkakudo; 

The  seventh,  for  the  August  Lord  Tenjin,  of  Nana-ura; 

The  eighth,  for  the  August  Lord  Hachiman,  of  Yawata; 

The  ninth,  for  the  Lord  Kobodaishi  of  Koya; 

The  tenth,  for  the  tutelary  Gods  of  this  place. 

The  vow  that  has  been  made  must  always  be  kept  I 


(Kyoto  Battledoor-song.} 

Shogwatsu,  — 

Kadomatsu ; 
Nigwatsu,  — 

Hatsu-uma ; 
Sangwatsu,  — 

Sekku ; 
Shigwatsu,  — 

O-Shaka ; 
Gogwatsu,  — 

Nobori ; 
Rokugwatsu,  — 

Tenno ; 
Shichigwatsu,  — 

Tanabata ; 
Hachigwatsu,  — 

Hassaku ; 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    199 

Kugwatsu,  - 

Kiku-tsuki ; 
Jiugwatsu,  — 

Ebisu-ko ; 
Shimotsuki ; 

Shiwasu ; 
Kokono  yo  de 

Itcho  yo ! 

First  Month,  Gate-Pinetree;1  — Second  Month,  First 
Day-of-the-Horse ; 2  —  Third  Month,  Girls'  Festival;3  — 
Fourth  Month,  the  August  Sakyamuni;4 — Fifth  Month, 
Flags;5  Sixth  Month,  Festival  of  the  tutelar  God;6  — 
Seventh  Month,  Festival  of  the  Weaver ; 7  —  Eighth  Month, 
Festival  of  the  First  Day;  —  Ninth  Month,  the  Month  of 
Chrysanthemums; — Tenth  Month,  Festival  of  Ebisu;8  — 
The  Frost  Month;  — The  Last  Month;  — Nine  strokes 
given  —  now  one  cbo  is  now  completed. 


1  The  Kadomatsu,  or  "Gate-Pine,"  is  planted  before  the  main  en 
trance  of  a  house  on  the  first  day  of  the  new  year. 

2  This  is  the  great  festival  of  the  Rice-God  ;  — the  term  Hatsu-uma, 
or  "  First  Horse-Day,"  signifies  only  seventh  day,  each  day  of  the  old 
month  being  named  after  one  of  the  twelve  Signs  of  the  Zodiac. 

3  Also  called  the  Festival  of  Dolls. 

*  The  Birthday  of  the  Buddha  is  celebrated  on  the  eighth  day  of  the 
fourth  month. 

6  This  is  the  Boys'  Festival.  Nobori  are  flags,  bearing  symbolic 
designs,  and  are  hoisted  in  celebration  of  the  birth  of  a  son.  In  Tokyo 
paper  or  cotton  figures  of  carp-fish  are  used  in  lieu  of  nobori. 

6  Tenno  is  the  name  usually  given  to  the  guardian-deity  of  a  city  or 
district. 

7  The  Weaver  is  the  Star  Vega. 

8  Patron-God  of  Labor. 


200          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Ball-song —  Province  of  Sbinano.) 

Daikoku-Sama,  to  iu  hito  wa,  — 
Ichi-ni,  tawara  wo  f  unmaete ; 
Ni-ni,  nikkori  warote ; 
San-ni,  sakazuki  itadaite ; 
Yotsu  de,  yo  no  naka  yoi  yo  ni ; 
Itsutsu  de,  izumi  no  waku  yo  ni ; 
Mutsu,  mubyo  sokusai  ni ; 
Nanatsu,  nanigoto  nai  yo  ni ; 
Yatsu  de,  yashiki  wo  tairagete  ; 
Kokonotsu,  ko-kura  wo  oshitatete' ; 
To  de,  tokkuri  osamatta. 

[Praying  to}  the  person  called  Daikoku-Sama,  — firstly, 
as  he  treads  upon  the  rice-bales,  —  secondly,  as  he  laughs 
with  pleasant  countenance,  —  thirdly,  taking  the  sake-cup 
respectfully  in  hand,  —  fourthly, —  [we  beseech  J.n'm]  that  all 
the  world  may  prosper,  —  fifthly,  that  the  springs  may 
purely  flow,  —  sixthly,  that  the  people  may  be  free  from  all 
sickness  and  calamity,  —  seventhly, that  all  evils  may  cease, 
—  eighthly,  that  our  house  may  be  victorious  [in  war~\ ,  — 
ninthly, that  treasure-houses  maybe  erected,  —  tenthly,that 
universal  peace  may  continue  to  prevail. 

This  last  is  a  curious  example  of  a  prayer  trans 
formed  into  a  ball-song.  Excepting  the  first  four 
lines  the  text  is  almost,  word-for-word,  the  text 
of  an  old  samurai-prayer,  —  the  household  prayer 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    201 

which  every  warrior  repeated  daily.  .  .  .  Some 
of  the  following,  on  the  other  hand,  are  little 
more  than  nonsense- verses :  — 

(Battledoor-song —  Province  of  EcM^en.) 

Hiya! 
Fuya! 

O-Koma  San ! 
Tabako  no 
Kemuri  wa, 
Johattsan ! 

One  struck  !  —  two  struck !    O-Koma  San  !    Smoke  of 
tobacco  —  Johattsan.1 

(Battledoor-song  —  Province' of  Shinano.) 

Ichigwatsu ; 
Nigwatsu ; 
Sangwatsu, 
Sakura ; 
Yanagi  no 
Shita  de, 


1  Jdhattsan,  familiar  abbreviation  of  Johachi  San  ("  Mr.  Johachi"). 
The  song  alludes  to  the  popular  drama  entitled  "  O-Koma-Saiza." 
O-Koma,  the  heroine  of  this  play,  is  a  beautiful  girl  who  comes  to  an 
unhappy  end  through  the  rascality  of  Johachi,  a  trusted  servant  in  her 
father's  house.  Johachi  appears  on  the  stage,  in  various  scenes  of 
the  drama,  squatting  before  a  bibacbi,  and  smoking  furiously. 


202          Japanese  Miscellany 

Kesho 
Shite ;  — 
To 
Yo! 

The  first  month ;  the  second  month ;  the  third  month, 
cherry-flowers  !  Under  the  willow-tree,  making  my  toilet 
—there  goes  ten ! 

(Battledoor-soug  —  Province  of  Shinano.) 

Hiya! 
Hikobe ! 
Hagetaka, 
Jirobe  ? 
Jirobe  no 
Atama  wa, 
Naze  hage'ta  ? 
Oya  ga 
Jakende, 
Hi  e  kubeta. 

One  for  Hikobe !  How  did  you  get  bald,  Jirobd  ?  As 
for  Jirobe's  head  —  how  did  it  become  bald  ?  His  parents, 
being  cruel,  put  his  head  in  the  fire. 

(Kyoto  Ball-song.} 

Hi,  fu,  mi,  yo, 
Yomo  no  keshiki  wo 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    203 

Haru  to  nagamete ;  — 

Ume  ni  uguisu 

"  H6-H6-H6kekyo  "  to  saezuru. 

Asu  wa  Gion  no 

Niken  chaya  de, 

Koto  ya  samisen 

Hayashi  tenten 

Temari-uta, 

"  Uta  no  Nakayama  " 
Chiyo  go  ni  go-jiu  de 
Chiyo  roku  —  roku  —  roku, 
Chiyo  shichi  —  shichi  —  shichi, 
Chiyo  hachi —  hachi  —  hachi, 
Chiyo  ku  ni  ku-jiu  de 
Chotto  hyaku  tsuita. 


One,  two,  three,  four !  —  in  each  of  the  four  directions 
gazing,  everywhere  the  signs  of  spring  are  seen.  On  the 
plum-tree  the  nightingale  sings  Ho-Ho-Hokekyo.1  To 
morrow  in  the  two  tea-houses  of  Gion-street,  with  accom 
paniment  of  koto  and  samisen  —  ting-ting!  —  will  be  sung 
the  hand-ball  songs,  and  the  song  called  "  Uta  no  Nakayama." 
.  .  .  Thus  making  fifty  and  five  chiyo.2  .  .  .  Chiyo,  six  — 
six  —  six  !  Chiyo,  seven  —  seven  —  seven  !  Chiyo ,  eight — 


1  With  regard  to  the  cry  of  the  uguisu,  see  the  preceding  paper  on 
Buddhist  nomenclature. 

s  Cbiyo  is  here  the  same  as  cbo,  meaning  the  even  number,  or  full 
ten. 


204          Japanese  Miscellany 

eight  —  eight !    Chiyo,  nine  and  ninety  now  !  .  .  .  Even  so 
a  hundred  have  been  struck ! 

( City  of  Shidquoka . ) 

Uguisu  ya !  uguisu  ya ! 
Tama-tama  miyako  e  noboru  toki, 
Ume  no  ko-eda  ni  hirune  shite, 
O-Chiyo  ni  nani-nani  kisete  yaru  ? 
Uwagi  wa  kon-kon-kon-chirimen, 
Shitagi  wa  chin-chin-chirimen ;  — 
Sore  wo  kisete  yattareba 
Michi  de  korobu  ka  ?  —  te  wo  tsuku  ka  ? 
Tono-San  ga  totara,  o-jigi  wo  seyo ; 
Omma l  kitaraba,  waki  ni  yore  ; 
Te-narai  kodomo  wo  kamo-nayo ; 
Kamoto  soshi  de  butareruzo ! 
Mazu,  mazu  ikkwan  okashimoshita ! 

—  O  Nightingale,  Nightingale !  when  some  time  you  go 
to  the  capital,  sleeping  by  day  on  a  plum-tree  bough,  what 
will  you  give  O-Chiyo  to  wear  ?  —  An  upper  dress  of  dark- 
blue,  dark-blue,  dark-blue  crepe-silk;  an  under-dress  of  rare, 
rare,  rare  crepe-silk.  So  dressed,  when  I  send  her  out, 
I  shall  warn  her  not  to  stumble,  or  to  dirty  her  hands.  "  If 
a  Lord  passes  on  the  road,  [/  shall  say  to  her,]  make  the 
honorable  reverence.  If  an  honorable  horse  approaches, 
keep  well  to  one  side  of  the  road.  Do  not  vex  the  children 


Omma  is  a  corruption  of  O-uma,  "  honorable  horse." 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    20? 

on  their  way  to  the  writing-school ;  —  if  you  vex  them,  you 
will  certainly  be  beaten  with  copy-books."  —  Now,  now  I 
have  lent  you  one  kwan  [  i.  e.,  I  have  struck  the  ball  one 
hundred  times !  ] l 


(Pr ounce  of  Ecbi^en.) 

Hitotsu,  hiita  mame,  — 

Ko  ni  shita  mame ; 
Futatsu,  funda  mame, — 

Tsubureta  mame ; 
Mitsu,  miso-mame,  — 

Fukureta  mame ; 
Yotsu,  yotta  mame,  — 

Kirei  na  mame ; 
Itsutsu,  itta  mame',  — 

Hara-kitta  mame ; 
Mutsu,  murota  mame,  — 

Tokushita  mame ; 
Nanatsu,  natta  mame, — 

Saya-tsuki  mame ; 
Yatsu,  yatta  mame,  — 

Son-shita  mame' ; 
Kokonotsu,  kota  mame,  — 

Zeni-dashita  mame ; 


1  The  ancient  kwan  was  worth  1000  cash,  —  or  mon.    Its  value  was 
therefore  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  dollar  of  100  cents. 


206          Japanese  Miscellany 

To  de  totta  mame, — 

Nushito-shita  mame. 


One  —  for  ground  peas,  — 

the  peas  made  into  flour ; 
Two,  —  for  trampled  peas,— 

the  peas  which  were  crushed; 
Three,  —  the  peas  made  into  w«so-sauce, — 

fermented  peas ; 
Four,  —  the  selected  peas,  — 

the  beautiful  peas ; 
Five,  —  for  parched  peas, — 

the  belly-cut  peas ; 
Six,  —  for  peas  given  to  us, — 

the  peas  which  we  gained ;    » 
Seven,  —  for  growing  peas,  — 

the  peas  in  the  pod ; 
Eight,  —  the  peas  given  away,  — 

the  peas  that  are  lost ; 
Nine,  —  the  peas  which  we  paid  for, — 

the  money-bought  peas ; 
And  Ten,  —  for  the  peas  that  we  took, — 

the  stolen  peas  l 

The  interest  of  the  next  selection  —  best  of  all 
the  ball-songs  —  is  of  quite  another  kind.  The 
scheme  of  the  composition  is  not  unlike  that  of 
our  celebrated  nursery-game,  "  I  love  my  love 
with  an  A  "  ;  and  the  narration  can  be  extended 
or  varied  indefinitely  according  to  the  imagina 
tive  wit  of  the  players :  — 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    207 

(  Tokyo  Hand-ball  Sang.) 
FIRST  PLAYER:  — 

O-Kan  —  Kan  —  Kan  — 
Kaga-Sama  yashiki  ja, 
O-Kesa  kometsuku, 
Konuka  ga  ochiru. 

—  Nantote  ochiru  ? 
Sasa!  slnchihu-dake! 
Sasa!  hachihu-dahe  ! 

—  Muko  no  muko  no 
Koshi-zukuri  no 
Shirakabe-zukuri  no 
Akai-noren  no  kakatta, 
O-Hime-Sama  made 
O-watashi  — 
Mosu-su-su  no  su  I 

SECOND  PLAYER:  — 

Uketotta!  uketotta! 

Uketotta! 

Daiji  no  o-mari  wo  uketotta ! 

Aa!  uketotta! 

Cho  ya,  hana  ya  to 

O-sodatemoshite ; 

O-kaeshimoshite 


208          Japanese  Miscellany 

Konya  no  ban  kara : 
Kami  mo  irazumi, 
Suzuri  mo  irazumi ; 
Hari  sambon,  — 
Kinu-ito  mi-suji  ni,  — 
Omma  ga  sambiki,  — 
O-kago  ga  sancho. 
Norikae-hik'kae, 
Muko  no  muko  no 
Koshi-zukuri  no 
Kaki  no  noren  no 

? Sama  made 

O-watashi  — 
Mosu-su-su  no  su! 

FIRST  PLAYER:  — 

In  the  residence  of  the  Lord  of  Ka  — Ka— Kaga,  the 
maid  0-Kesa  is  cleaning  rice,  and  the  rice-bran  falls.  With 
what  sound  does  it  faH  ? — With  the  sound  of  Sasa!  shicb/ku- 
dake ! —sasa !  hachiku-dake!1  .  .  .  Now  to  the  maiden- 
princess  dwelling  far,  far  away,2 — in  the  house  with  the 


1  These  words  are  all  names  of  bamboo.  The  sasa  is  a  small  variety 
of  bamboo :  the  sbichiku-dakl  is  a  black  bamboo ;  and  the  hacbiku- 
dak'e  is  a  purplish  bamboo.  But  in  this  song  the  words  are  used  only 
as  onomatopes.  The  syllables  sasa  represent  the  creaking  of  the  great 
wooden  mallet,  when  lifted  by  the  feet  of  the  rice-pounder ;  and  the 
syllables  sbicbiku-dake,  hacbiku-dake  are  intended  to  imitate  the  noise 
of  the  mallet  falling,  and  the  dull  thud  of  the  blow. 

2  Muko  no  muko  (lit.,  "  in  front  of  in  front  "  )  might  better  be  ren 
dered  by  our  colloquial  phrase,  "  at  the  back  of  beyond." 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    209 

lattice-work,  —  in  the  house  with  the  white  walls,  —  in  the 
house  with  the  red  curtains  hung  up,  —  I  do  now  most 
worshipfully  this  ball  pas-s-s-ss  ! 

{Here  the  ball  is  thrown  to  another  girl,  who 

catches  it,  and  sings  :  —  ] 

SECOND  PLAYER-.— 

I  have  caught  it !  I  have  caught  it !  I  have  received  the 
precious  ball.  Ah  !  I  have  received  it !  Like  a  butterfly, 
like  a  blossom ,  even  so  tenderly  shall  it  be  honorably  cared 
for ;  and  by  this  night  shall  it  worshipfully  be  returned. 
[To  return  it]  neither  paper  nor  inkstone  will  be  needed,1 
—  but  three  needles,  and  three  lines  of  silken  thread,2  —  and 
three  honorable  horses,  and  three  honorable  palanquins.  .  . 
Changing  horses,  and  again  changing  horses,  [I  myself 

shall  carry  this  ball]  to  the  Lady — 3  who  dwells  far, 

far  away  from  here, —  in  the  building  with  the  lattice-work, 
in  the  building  with  the  persimmon-colored  curtains  hung 
up.  To  her  I  now  do  worshipfully  [this  ball]  pas-s-s-ss  ! 


VI 

LULLABIES 

A  PARTICULAR  psychological  interest  attaches  to 
the  literature  of  the  lullaby,  independently  of 


1  Because  the  ball  will  not  be  returned  merely  by  a  messenger  bear 
ing  a  letter  of  thanks. 

2  Because  it  will  be  respectfully  enclosed  in  a  silken  wrapper  or  bag. 

3  Here  the  real  name  of  the  girl,  to  whom  the  ball  Is  next  to  be 
thrown,  may  be  mentioned. 

14 


210          Japanese  Miscellany 

country  or  race.  Being  the  natural  utterance  of 
mother-love,  the  lullaby  may  be  said  to  express 
the  most  ancient  form  of  tender  experience ;  and 
in  almost  every  time  and  place  the  essential  char 
acter  of  this  variety  of  folk-song  has  been  little 
affected  by  social  changes  of  any  sort.  Whether 
narrative  or  jingle,  sense  or  nonsense,  the  verses 
usually  contain  some  reference  to  those  familiar 
things  in  which  the  child-mind  discovers  cause 
for  wonder :  horses  or  cows,  trees  or  flowers,  the 
moon  and  the  stars,  birds  or  butterflies,  sights  of 
the  street  or  garden.  Often  the  lullaby  repre 
sents  the  reiteration  of  one  term  of  caress,  alter 
nated  with  promises  of  reward  for  docility,  and 
hints  of  danger  as  a  result  of  fretfulness.  The 
promises  commonly  refer  to  food  or  toys;  and 
the  threatened  penalties  are  not  to  be  inflicted  by 
the  mother,  but  by  some  bogey  or  goblin  having 
power  to  punish  naughty  children.  To  such 
general  rules  the  Japanese  lullabies  do  not  offer 
any  remarkable  exceptions;  but  they  abound  in 
queer  fancies,  and  have  a  distinctly  Oriental 
quality. 

Perhaps  the  European  reader  will  be  startled  by 
the  apparition  of  the  syllables  nenne  and  nenneko 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    211 

at  the  beginning  of  these  little  songs ;  for  many 
of  the  French  berceuses  also  begin  with  the  syl 
lables  nene,  having  nearly  the  same  sound. 
(The  French  word  nene,  —  pronounced  in  some 
dialects  nenna  and  nono,  —  is  commonly  used  by 
mothers  in  southern  France;  dodo  being  the 
northern  equivalent.1)  But  of  course  there  is  no 
real  etymological  relation  between  the  French 
nene  and  the  Japanese  nenne.  The  Japanese 
phrase,  nenneko,  is  compounded  with  a  syllable 
of  the  verb  neru,  signifying  to  sleep ;  a  syllable 
of  the  word  nenne  or  nennei,  meaning  baby ;  and 
the  word  ho,  meaning  child.  "  Sleep,  baby- 
child  !  "  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  expression. 

{Province  of  he.) 

Nenne,  nenne-to ! 
Neru-ko  wa  kawai ; 
Okite-naku-ko  wa 
Tsura-nikui. 

Sleep,  little  one,  sleep  !    Sweet  is  the  face  of  the  sleeping 
child;  —  ugly  the  face  of  the  wakeful  child  that  cries ! 


1  See,  for  examples,  M.  Tiersot's  Histoire  de  la  Chanson  Populaire 
en  France  :  pp.  136-137,  et  seq. 


212          Japanese  Miscellany 

( Province  of  I^umo. ) 

Nenneko,  nenneko,  nenneko  ya ! 
Netara  o-kaka  e  tsurete  ina ! 
Okitara  gagama  ga  totte  kama ! 

Sleep,  sleep,  0  sleep,  my  child  I  If  you  sleep  I  will 
go  home  to  fetch  your  mother !  If  you  stay  awake  the 
Gagama 1  will  catch  and  bite  you  ! 

(Kyoto  Lullaby.} 

Netaka?  nenandaka? 
Makura  ni  toeba, 
Makura  mono  iuta, 
Neta  to  iuta. 

Gone  to  sleep  ? —  not  yet  sleeping  ?  When  I  questioned 
the  pillow, the  pillow  spoke  words:  "Already  asleep,"  — 
so  it  said. 

(Province  of  Musashi. ) 

Nenneko!  nenne'ko! 
Nenneko  yo ! 
Oraga  akabo  wa 
Itsu  dekita  ? 


1  This  is  an  Izumo  name  for  some  kind  of  Goblin.  I  wonder  if  the 
term  is  not  a  corruption  of  the  ancient  word  Gogome,  —  a  name  given 
to  certain  phantoms  of  the  primitive  Shinto  cult,  —  the  Ugly  Women  of 
th?  Underworld. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    213 

San-gwatsu,  sakura  no 
Saku  toki  ni : 
Dori  de  o-kao  ga 
Sakura-iro. 

Sleep,  sleep,  sleep,  my  child !  When  was  my  baby 
made  ?  In  the  third  month,  in  the  time  of  the  blooming 
of  cherry-flowers.  Therefore  the  color  of  the  honorable 
face  of  my  child  is  the  color  of  the  cherry-blossom. 

(Province  of  Sanuki.} 

Nennen,  nennen, 
Nennen  yo !  — 
Nenneshita  ko  ni 
Haneita  to  hane  to ; 
Nenne-sen  ko  ni 
Hane  bakari.  .  .  . 

Sleep,  sleep,  sleep!— For  the  little  one  who  goes  to 
sleep,  a  battledoor  and  shuttlecock !  For  the  child  who 
does  not  sleep,  only  a  shuttlecock! 

( Province  of  Shinano . ) 

Nennen -yo ! 
Korokoro  yo ! 
Nennen-Koyama l  no 

1  Perhaps  the  name  Nennen-Koyama  might  be  translated,  "  The 
Hills  of  the  Land  of  Nod."  The  Kiji,  a  beautiful  green  pheasant,  often 
betrays  itself  to  the  hunter  by  its  cry ;  —  hence  the  proverb,  Kiji  mo 


214          Japanese  Miscellany 

Kiji  no  ko  wa, 
Nakuto  o-taka  ni 
Torareru  yo  ! 

Sleep  !  happily  sleep  !    The  young  of  the  kiji  in  the  Hill 
of  Nennen  —  if  it  cries  it  is  sure  to  be  taken  by  the  hawk. 


(Province  o 

Nenneko,  nenneko,  nenneko  ya  ! 
Achira  muitemo  yama  yama  ; 
Kochira  muitemo  yama  yama. 
Yama  no  naka  ni  nani  ga  aru  ? 
Shii  ya  donguri  kaya  no  mi. 

Sleep,  sleep,  little  one,  sleep!  I  turn  that  way;  but  I 
see  only  mountains.  I  turn  this  way;  but  I  see  only 
mountains.  In  the  midst  of  those  mountains  what  can 
there  be?  There  are  s/^-nuts  and  acorns  and  seeds  of 
kaya? 

(  Province  of  I^umo.  ) 

Nenneko  se,  nenneko  se  ! 
Nenne  no  omori  wa  doko  e  itta  ? 
Yama  wo  koete  sato,  e'  itta. 


naka^uba  utarewa  sbimai :  "  If  the   Kiji  did  not  cry,  it  would  not  be 
shot." 

1  The  sbii-tree  is  a  variety  of  live-oak. 

2  The  kaya  is  a  kind  of  yew. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    21? 

Sato  no  miyage  ni  nani  morota  ? 
Denden-taiko  ni  furi-tsuzumi, 
Okiagarikoboshi  ni  inu-hariko. 

Sleep,  little  one,  sleep !  Where  is  the  sleep-nurse,  the 
girl-nurse  gone  ?  Over  the  hills  to  her  own  village-home. 
When  she  comes  back,  what  presents  will  she  bring  you  ? 
A  round  drum  to  beat  and  a  hand-drum  l  to  shake;  an 
okiagartkoboshi,2  and  a  paper  dog. 

(Province  of  Ise.} 

Nenne  sanse  yo ! 
Kyo  wa  ni-jiu-go  nichi ; 
Asu  wa  kono  ko  no 
Miya-mairi. 
Miya  e  mairaba 
Do  iute  ogamu  ? 
Kono  ko  ichi-dai 
Mame  na  yo  ni. 

Sleep,  child !  sleep  !  To-day  is  the  twenty-fifth  day. 
To-morrow  morning  this  child  will  make  his  first  visit  to 
the  [Shinto]  parish-temple.  When  I  go  with  him  to  the 
temple,  what  shall  I  pray  for  ?  I  will  pray  that  through 
all  his  life  this  child  may  be  healthy  and  strong. 


1  The  round  shallow  drum  is  called  a  dendem-taiko.    The  tsu^umi 
is  a  hand-drum  of  a  very  peculiar  shape.     Of  course  the  toy-drums 
here  referred  to  are  considerably  smaller  than  the  real  instrument. 

2  The  okiagarikobosbi  is  a  little  figure   of  a  wrestler  which  is  so 
weighted  as  to  assume  an  erect  posture,  no  matter  how  thrown  down. 


216          Japanese  Miscellany 

( Province  of  Musashi. ) 

Nenneko,  nenneko, 
Nenneko  yo ! 
Oraga  akabo  no 
Neta  rusu  ni, 
Azuki  wo  yonagete, 
Kome  toide, 
Aka  no  mamma  e 
Toto  soete, 
Aka  no  ii-ko  ni 
Kureru-zo ! 

Sleep,  sleep,  sleep,  little  one !  While  my  baby  sleeps  I 
will  wash  some  red  beans  and  clean  some  rice ;  —  then  add 
ing  some  fish  to  the  red  rice,  I  will  serve  it  up  to  this  best 
of  little  babies. 

(Province  of  Echi^en.) 

Uchi  no  kono  ko  no 
Makura  no  moyo, 
Ume  ni  uguisu, 
Matsu  ni  tsuru : 
Ume  ni  naretemo, 
Sakura  wa  iyaya;  — 
Onaji  hana  demo, 
Chiri  yasui. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    217 

The  designs  upon  the  pillow  of  this  child  of  the  house 
are  nightingales  and  plum-trees,  storks  and  pines.  I  am 
used  to  the  plum-tree-design ;  but  I  would  not  have  the 
cherry-flower  design.  Though  the  cherry-tree  be  equal  in 
beauty  to  the  plum-tree,  its  blossoms  too  easily  fall.1 


(Matsue  :  Province  of  I^umo.} 

Nenneko,  nenneko  nenneko  ya ! 

Kono  ko  nashite  naku-yara  ? 

O-chichi    ga    taranuka  ?  —  o-mama    ga 

taranuka  ? 

Ima  ni  ototsan  no  otono  no  o-kaeri  ni 
Ame  ya,  o-kwashi  ya,  hii-hii  ya, 
Gara-gara,  nagureba  fuito  tatsu 
Okiagarikoboshi !  — 
Nenneko,  nenneko,  nenneko  ya ! 

Sleep,  sleep,  sleep,  little  one  !  Why  does  the  child  con 
tinue  to  cry  ?  Is  the  honorable  milk  deficient  ?  —  is  the 
honorable  rice  deficient?  Presently  when  father  returns 
from  the  great  Lord's  palace,  ame  will  be  given  you,  and 


1  Therefore  the  design  is  unlucky.  Some  local  bit  of  folklore  is  sug 
gested  by  this  composition  ;  —  usually  the  cherry-flower  is  thought  to 
be  a  happy  symbol.  —  In  this  connection  I  may  observe  that  the  lotos- 
flower  design  is  held  to  be  unlucky.  It  is  never  to  be  seen  in  patterns 
for  children's  clothing ;  and  even  pictures  of  the  flower  are  scarcely 
ever  suspended  in  a  room.  The  reason  is  that  the  lotos,  being  the 
symbolic  flower  of  Buddhism,  is  sculptured  upon  tombstones,  and  is 
borne  as  an  emblem  in  funeral  processions. 


218  Japanese  Miscellany 

also  cake,  and  a  bit-bit  likewise,  and  a  rattle  as  well,  and  an 
okiagarikoboshi  that  will  stand  up  immediately  after  being 
thrown  down. 


(Shid^uoka  City.} 

Yoi-ko  da ! 
San-ko  da ! 
Mame  na  ko  da  ! 
Mame  de  sodateta 
O-ko  ja  mono ! 
Neruto  nerimochi 
Kureteyaru  ; 
Damaruto  dango  wo 
Kureteyaru ; 
Nakuto  nagamochi 
Showaseru  zo ; 
Okoruto  okorimushi  ni 
Kureteyaru. 

Good  child,  genteel  child,  —  what  a  healthy  child  it  is ! 
For  it  is  a  child  that  has  been  nourished  with  peas. — 
Kneaded  rice-cakes  I  will  give  you  if  you  sleep.  Dumplings 
I  will  give  you  if  you  hush.  If  you  cry  I  will  make  you 
carry  a  nagamochi  [quilt-chest].  If  you  get  angry  I  will 
give  you  to  the  Anger-Insect.1 


1  The  chief  interest  of  this  composition  is  the  curiously  alliterative 
structure  of  the  phrases.  There  are  several  queer  plays  upon  words, 
Mame,  as  pronounced,  may  mean  either  "  peas  "  or  "  healthy."  In  the 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    219 

(Province  of  Surnga.} 

B6  ya  wa  iiko  da  ! 

Nenneshina ! 

Kono  ko  no  kawaisa 

Kagiri  nai,  — 

Yama  de  no  ki  no  kazu, 

Kay  a  no  kazu, 

Ten  e  nobotte 

Hoshi  no  kazu, 

Numadzu  e  kudareba 

Senbon  matsu,  - 

Senbon-matsubara, 

Ko-matsubara, 

Matsuba  no  kazu  yori 

Mada  kawai  ! 

Oh  !  how  good  a  child  this  boy  is  !  Sleep,  my  child  !  — 
My  love  of  this  child  is  incalculable  as  the  number  of  the 
trees  in  the  mountain-forest,  —  as  the  number  of  the  fruits 
of  the  kaya,  —  as  the  number  of  the  stars  in  the  sky  above, 
—  as  the  thousands  of  the  pines  of  Numadzu  below,  —  as 
the  myriad  great  pines  of  the  pine-forest, — as  the  myriad 
little  pines  of  the  young  pine-wood  :  more  incalculable  even 
than  the  leaves  of  those  pine-trees,  is  my  love  of  this  little 
one ! 


same  way  "  okori  "  might  mean  either  "to  be  angry"  or  "ague." 
Okorimusbi  properly  signifies  the  "ague-insect,"  and  is  the  popular 
name  of  a  large  moth,  believed  to  cause  chills  and  fever. 


220          Japanese  Miscellany 

(Lullaby  sung  to  the  cUld  of  a  Daimyo.  —  Province  of 
I^umo.}  * 

O-nenne,  o-nenne,  o-nenne  ya ! 
Yoi  ni  wa  tokara  gyoshin  nari. 
Asama  wa  tokara  omezamete, 
Omezame  no  ohobi  ni  nani,  nani  ? 
O -chichi  no  debana  wo  agemashozo, 
O-chichi  no  debana  ga  o-iya  nara, 
Niwatori-keawase  o-me  ni  kakyo  ; 
Niwatori-keawase  o-iya  nara, 
O-kwashi  wa  takusan  o-agarika ! 

Augustly  rest,  augustly  rest !  Soon  this  evening  augustly 
sleep  !  Early  at  daybreak,  at  the  august  awakening,  what, 
what  honorable  gift  shall  be  presented  at  the  august  awak 
ening?  Flower  of  honorable  milk  shall  be  presented.  If 
the  flower  of  honorable  milk  be  augustly  disliked,  then  the 
fighting  of  the  cocks  will  be  honorably  displayed.  If  the 
fighting  of  the  cocks  be  augustly  disliked,  then  will  not 
honorable  cake  be  augustly  accepted? 

(Tokro.) 

Nennen  yo ! 
Korokoro  yo ! 
Nennen -Koyama  no 
Usagi  wa, 

1  Obtained  from  dictation  at  Matsue,  Izumo.     The  original  interest 
of  this  piece  lies  in  the  curious  and  really  untranslatable  honorifics. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    221 

Naze  ni  o-mimi  ga 
O-nagai  ne  ? 
Okkasan  no 
O-naka  ni, 
Ita  toki  ni, 
Biwa  no  mi, 
Sasa  no  mi, 
Tabemashite ;  — 
Sore  de  o-mimi  ga 
O-nagai  yo ! l 


Sleep,  little  one  !  —  pleasantly  sleep  !  -  Why  are  the  ears 
of  the  hare  of  the  Hill  of  Nennen  so  honorably  long  ? 
When  he  was  in  his  mother's  honorable  womb,  she  ate  the 
fruits  of  the  loquat,  the  seeds  of  the  small  bamboo  :  there 
fore  his  honorable  ears  are  thus  honorably  long  ! 


(Province  of  Settsu.) 

Nenne  !  Koro  i'chi !  — 
Temma  no  ichi  yo  ! 
Daikon  soroete, 
Fune  ni  tsumu. 
Fune  ni  tsundara 


1  An  Izumo  version  of  this  lullaby  will  be  found  in  Glimpses  of  Un 
familiar  Japan,  —  p.  609.  The  Izumo  version  is  more  interesting.  — 
There  are  several  Tokyo  versions. 


222          Japanese  Miscellany 

Doko-made  ikiyaru  ? 
Kizu  ya  Namba  no 
Hashi  no  shita. 
Hashi  no  shita  ni  wa 
O-kame  ga  iyaru ; 
O-kame  toritaya, 
Take  hoshiya ! 
Take  ga  hoshikerya, 
Takeya  e  ikiyare  ; 
Take  wa  nandemo 
Gozarimasu  ! 

Sleep,  child  !  Fair-time  is  coming.  Oh  !  the  fair  of 
Temma  !  —  The  ends  of  the  radishes  having  been  evenly 
trimmed,  the  ship  is  loaded.  Having  been  laden,  where 
will  the  ship  go  ?  —  Under  the  Bridge  of  Kizu,  and  under  the 
Bridge  of  Namba.  —  Under  those  bridges  live  many  hon 
orable  tortoises.  Honorable  tortoises  I  want  to  catch  !  — 
I  want  a  bamboo-pole.  —  If  you  wish  for  a  bamboo-pole, 
go  to  the  bamboo-shop.  In  that  bamboo-shop  all  kinds  of 
bamboos  augustly  exist. 

( Tokyo.} 

O-Tsuki  Sama,  ikutsu  ? 
Jiu-san,  nanatsu. 
Mada  toshi  waka  ye .' 
Ano  ko  wo  unde, 
Kono  ko  wo  unde, 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    22? 

Dare  ni  dakasho  ? 
O-Man  ni  dakasho. 
O-Man  doko  itta  ? 
Abura-kae,  cha-kae. 
Aburaya  no  mae  de 
Subite  koronde ; 
Abura  issho  koboshita. 
Sono  abura  doshita  ? 
Taro-Don  no  inu  to, 
Jiro-Don  no  inu  to, 
Mina  namete  shimatta. 
Sono  inu  doshita  ? 
Taiko  ni  hatte, 
Achi  no  ho  demo, 
Don-doko-don  ! 
Kochi  no  ho  demo, 
Don-doko-don ! 
Tataita-to-sa ! 

Lady  Moon,  how  old  are  you  ?  — Thirteen,  seven.— 
That  is  still  young.  —  That  child  being  born,  this  child  be 
ing  born,  to  whom  shall  the  child  be  given  to  carry  ?  —  To 
O-Man  it  shall  be  given  to  carry.  —Where  is  O-Man  gone ? 
—  She  has  gone  to  buy  oil ;  she  has  gone  to  buy  tea.  — 
Slipping  and  falling,  in  front  of  the  oil-shop,  one  whole 
sZ>o l  of  oil  she  spilled.  —  What  was  done  with  that  oil  ?  — 


One  sho  is  a  little  more  than  a  quart  and  a  half. 


224          Japanese  Miscellany 

The  dog  of  Master  Taro,  and  the  dog  of  Masver  Jiro,  licked 
it  all  up.  —  What  was  done  with  those  dogs  ?  —  Their  skins 
were  stretched  and  made  into  drums.  There  you  can  hear 
[the  dntm\  even  now,  —  don-doko-don!  Here  you  can  hear 
[the  drum]  even  now,  —  don-doko-don!  So  they  beat  the 
drums ! 


(Province  of  Gifu.) 

Nenne  ya !  korokoro  ya ! 
Nenne  no  umareta 
Sono  hi  ni  wa, 
Akai  o-mamma  ni 
Toto  soete, 

Toto-sama  no  o-hashi  de 
Agemashoka  ? 
Toto-sama  no  o-hashi  wa 
Toto  kusai. 

Haha-sama  no  o-hashi  de 
Agemashoka  ? 
Haha-sama  no  o-hashi  wa 
Chichi  kusai. 
Ane-sama  no  o-hashi  de 
Agemasho. 
Nennen !  korokoro 
Nenne'-sho ! 

Sleep,  little  one !  happily  sleep  !     On  your  next  birth 
day  I  will  give  you  red  rice  cooked  with  fish.    Shall  I  then 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    225 

feed  you  with  the  honorable  chopsticks  of  your  father?  — 
The  honorable  chopsticks  of  father  smell  of  fish.  —  Shall  I 
feed  you  with  the  honorable  chopsticks  of  your  mother  ?  — 
Mother's  honorable  chopsticks  smell  of  milk.— Then  1 
shall  feed  you  with  the  honorable  chopsticks  of  your  elder 
sister.  —  Sleep  !  pleasantly  go  to  sleep  I 

(Province  of  Sett su.) 

Nenneko,  sanneko,  sakaya  no  ko ! 
Sakaya  wo  iyanara  yome  ni  yaro. 
Yome  no  dogu  wa,  nani-nani  zo  ? 
Tansu,  nagamochi,  hitsu,  todana ; 
Ryukyu-zutsumi  ga  rokka  aru ; 
Furoshiki-zutsumi  wa  kazu  shirezu 
Sorehodo  koshirae  yaru-kara-nya, 
Issho  sararete  modoruna  yo ! 
—  Sorya  mata  okkasan  doyoku  na ! 
Sengoku  tsundaru  fune  saemo, 
Kaze  ga  kawareba  modoru  mono ! 

Sleep,  sleep,  my  child,— child  of  the  sa&f-dealer!  If 
you  do  not  like  this  saJ&£house,  I  will  send  you  away  as  a 
bride.  What  are  the  bridal-gifts  that  will  be  given  ?  A 
tansu  (chest  of  drawers),  a  nagamochi  (quilt-chest),  one 
Msu  (clothes-chest),  one  todana  (cupboard).  Of  Ryukyu  1 
goods  the  packages  are  six;  —  as  for  the  presents  wrapped 

1  Rykuyu  is  the  Japanese  name  of  the  Loochoo  Islands.    Various 
textile  and  other  fabrics,  made  in  the  Loochoo  islands,  are  greatly 
prized  in  Japan. 
15 


226  Japanese  Miscellany 

infuroshikt,1  their  number  cannot  be  told.  So  much  hav 
ing  been  done  for  you,  when  you  are  given  as  a  bride, 
remember  that  if  you  be  divorced,  you  must  never  in  your 
life  come  back  to  this  house !  —  Ah,  mother !  that  is  too 
cruel  of  you!  Even  the  ship  that  is  freighted  with  a 
thousand  koku  of  rice  returns  to  port  if  the  fair  wind 
changes. 

( Tokyo  Lullaby.} 

Senjo  zashiki  no 
Karakami  sodachi ! 
Botchama  mo  yoi  ko  ni 
Naru  toki  wa, 
Jimen  wo  fuyashite, 
Kura  tatete, 
Kura  no  tonari  ni 
Matsu  uete, 
Matsu  no  tonari  ni 
Take  uete, 
Take  no  tonari  ni 
Ume  uete, 
Ume  no  ko-eda  ni 
Suzu  sagete,  — 
Sono  suzu  chara-chara 
Naru  toki  wa, 


1  Small  presents  are  usually  wrapped  in  a  square  piece  of  cotton  or 
silk  before  being  sent ;  and  this  wrapper,  much  resembling  a  large 
handkerchief,  is  called  afuroshiki. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    227 

Botchama  mo  sazo-sazo 
Ureshikaro ! 

[Big  and  beautiful]  as  the  sliding-screens  of  a  thou 
sand-mat  room,  —  so  Sir  Baby-boy  is  growing" !  When  he 
becomes  a  good  boy  likewise,  then  I  will  make  larger  the 
grounds  about  our  dwelling,  and  there  build  for  him  a 
treasure-house.  "Next  to  the  treasure-house  I  will  plant 
pine-trees.  Next  to  the  pine-trees  I  will  plant  bamboos. 
Next  to  the  bamboos  I  will  plant  plum-trees.  To  the  little 
branches  of  those  plum-trees  shall  be  hung  little  bells. 
When  those  little  bells  sound  chara-chara  —  O  Sir  Baby- 
boy,  how  happy  you  will  be ! 


(City  of  Hakata.) 

Kink  an,  mikan,  nambo  tabeta  ? 
O-tera  no  nikai  de  mitsu  tabeta. 
Sono  o-tera  wa  dare  ga  tateta  ? 
Hachiman-Choja  no  oto-musume. 
Oto  ga  yome-iri  suru  toki  nya 
Nangai-teramachi  shara-shara  to, 
Mijikai-teramachi  shara-shara  to. 
Shara-shara  setta  no  o  ga  kireta : 

-  Anesan,  tatete  kurenkana  ? 

-  Tatete  yaro  kota  yarokendo 
Hari  mo  nakareba,  ito  mo  nai. 

-  Hari  wa  hariya  de  kote-yaru, 
Ito  wa  itoya  de  kote-yaru. 


228          Japanese  Miscellany 

—  Hari  wa  hariya  no  kusare-bari, 
Ito  wa  itoya  no  kusare-ito  ! 

-  Anesan,  setta  ni  chi  ga  tsuita ! 

—  Sore  wa  chi  ja  nai  —  beni  ja  mono  ! 
Osaka  beni  koso  iro  yokere  ; 
Iro  no  yoi  hodo  ne  ga  takai. 

—  Citrons,  oranges,  —  how  many  did  you  eat  ? 

—  Upstairs  in  the  honorable  temple  I  ate  three. 

—  As  for  that  honorable  temple,  —  by  whom   was  it 

built  ? 

By  the  youngest  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Hachiman. 
On  the  day  when  that  youngest  daughter  went  out  to  be 

married, 
Down  the  long  Street-of -Temples  she  walked  —  sbara- 

shara, 
Down  the  short  Street-of-Temples  she  walked—  shara- 

shara  : 
Then  was  broken  a  thong  of  the  sandals l  that  sounded 

shara-sbara. 

"  Elder  sister,  will  you  not  kindly  mend  it  ?" 
"  The  thong  I  would  mend  for  you  ; 
But  I  have  neither  a  needle  nor  thread." 
"  A  needle  from  the  needle-shop  I  will  buy  for  you ; 
Thread  from  the  threadshop  I  will  buy  for  you." 
"  Ah,  this  needle  of  the  needle-shop  is  a  rotten  needle  ! 
This  thread  of  the  thread-shop  is  rotten  thread." 
"  Elder  Sister  !  there  is  blood  upon  my  sandals  !  " 


1  The  setta  is  a  light,  but  very  strong  sandal,  of  which  the  leather 
sole  is  strengthened  with  plates  of  thin  metal. 


Songs  of  Japanese  Children    229 

"  That  is  not  blood,  it  is  only  bent  (rouge).1 
The  rouge  of  Osaka  has  indeed  a  fine  color : 
Very  fine  is  the  color,  — therefore  the  price  is  dear." 


And  now,  by  way  of  conclusion,  let  me  state 
that  in  preparing  this  rather  lengthy  paper  I  could 
only  hope  to  furnish  the  reader  with  a  new 
experience,  —  an  experience  somewhat  like  that 
of  passing,  for  the  first  time,  through  Japanese 
streets. 

The  first  general  impression  of  a  Japanese 
street  must  be,  for  most  people,  even  more 
vague  than  strange.  Unless  you  happen  to 
have  senses  of  superlative  delicacy,  —  unless  you 
possess  a  visual  faculty  like  that  of  Pierre  Loti, 
for  example,  —  you  can  remember  very  little, 
and  understand  almost  nothing,  of  what  you 
looked  at  while  passing  through  that  street. 
Nevertheless  you  will  find  yourself  surprised  and 
pleased ;  —  you  will  feel,  without  knowing  why, 
the  sensation  of  the  elfish  and  the  odd,  —  the 
charm  of  the  unexpected. 

Well,  in  all  the  child-songs  which  I  have  quoted, 
perhaps  less  than  half-a-dozen  fairly  arrested  your 
attention ;  and  of  the  rest  you  probably  remem- 

1  Beni  is  used  chiefly  to  color  the  lips. 


230          Japanese  Miscellany 

ber  scarcely  anything1.  But  if  you  have  read 
through  the  series,  even  hastily  and  superficially, 
you  should  have  obtained  a  general  impression, 
or  vague  sensation,  not  unlike  the  sensation  that 
follows  upon  the  first  vision  of  Japanese  streets : 
—  dim  surmise  of  another  and  inscrutable  human 
ity, —  another  race-soul,  strangely  alluring,  yet 
forever  alien  to  your  own. 


STUDIES  HERE  AND  THERE 


On  a  Bridge 


On  a  Bridge 

* 

MY  old  kurumaya,  Heishichi,  was  taking  me 
to  a  famous  temple  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Kumamoto. 

We  came  to  a  humped  and  venerable  bridge 
over  the  Shirakawa ;  and  1  told  Heishichi  to  halt 
on  the  bridge,  so  that  I  could  enjoy  the  view  for 
a  moment.  Under  the  summer  sky,  and  steeped 
in  a  flood  of  sunshine  electrically  white,  the  colors 
of  the  land  seemed  almost  unreally  beautiful. 
Below  us  the  shallow  river  laughed  and  gurgled 
over  its  bed  of  grey  stones,  overshadowed  by  ver 
dure  of  a  hundred  tints.  Before  us  the  reddish- 
white  road  alternately  vanished  and  re -appeared 
as  it  wound  away,  through  grove  or  hamlet, 
toward  the  high  blue  ring  of  peaks  encircling  the 
vast  Plain  of  Higo.  Behind  us  lay  Kumamoto, 
-a  far  bluish  confusion  of  myriad  roofs;  — 
only  the  fine  grey  lines  of  its  castle  showing 
sharp  against  the  green  of  further  wooded  hills. 
.  .  .  Seen  from  within,  Kumamoto  is  a  shabby 
235 


2^6          Japanese  Miscellany 

place ;  but  seen  as  I  beheld  it  that  summer  day, 
it  is  a  fairy-city,  built  out  of  mist  and  dreams.  .  .  . 

"  Twenty-two  years  ago,"  said  Heishichi,  wip 
ing  his  forehead —  "  no,  twenty-three  years  ago, 
—  I  stood  here,  and  saw  the  city  burn." 

"  At  night  ?  "  I  queried. 

"No,"  said  the  old  man, "it  was  in  the  after 
noon  —  a  wet  day.  .  .  .  They  were  fighting ;  and 
the  city  was  on  fire." 

"  Who  were  fighting  ?  " 

"  The  soldiers  in  the  castle  were  fighting-  with 
the  Satsuma  men.  We  dug  holes  in  the  ground 
and  sat  in  them,  to  escape  the  balls.  The  Sat 
suma  men  had  cannons  on  the  hill ;  and  the 
soldiers  in  the  castle  were  shooting  at  them  over 
our  heads.  The  whole  city  was  burned." 

"  But  how  did  you  happen  to  be  here  ? " 

"I  ran  away.  I  ran  as  far  as  this  bridge, — 
all  by  myself.  I  thought  that  I  could  get  to  my 
brother's  farm  —  about  seven  miles  from  here. 
But  they  stopped  me." 

"  Who  stopped  you  ?  " 

"  Satsuma  men,  —  I  don't  know  who  they  were. 
As  I  got  to  the  bridge  1  saw  three  peasants  —  I 
thought  they  were  peasants  —  leaning  over  the 


On  a  Bridge  237 

railing:  men  wearing  big  straw  hats  and  straw 
rain-cloaks  and  straw  sandals.  I  spoke  to  them 
politely ;  and  one  of  them  turned  his  head  round, 
and  said  to  me,  *  You  stay  here ! '  That  was  all 
he  said :  the  others  did  not  say  anything.  Then 
I  saw  that  they  were  not  peasants ;  and  I  was 
afraid." 

"  How  did  you  know  that  they  were  not 
peasants  ?  " 

"  They  had  long  swords  hidden  under  their 
rain-cloaks,  —  very  long  swords.  They  were 
very  tall  men.  They  leaned  over  the  bridge, 
looking  down  into  the  river.  I  stood  beside 
them, —just  there,  by  the  third  post  to  the  left, 
and  did  as  they  did.  I  knew  that  they  would 
kill  me  if  I  moved  from  there.  None  of  them 
spoke.  And  we  four  stood  leaning  over  the 
railing  for  a  long  time." 

"  How  long  ?  " 

"I  do  not  know  exactly  —  it  must  have  been 
a  long  time.  I  saw  the  city  burning.  All  that 
while  none  of  the  men  spoke  to  me  or  looked 
at  me :  they  kept  their  eyes  upon  the  water. 
Then  I  heard  a  horse  ;  and  I  saw  a  cavalry  officer 
coming  at  a  trot,  —  looking  all  about  him  as  he 
came.  ,  .  ." 


238          Japanese  Miscellany 

"  From  the  city  ?  " 

"Yes, —  along  that  road  behind  you.  .  .  .  The 
three  men  watched  him  from  under  their  big 
straw  hats ;  but  they  did  not  turn  their  heads ;  — 
they  pretended  to  be  looking  down  into  the  river. 
But,  the  moment  that  the  horse  got  on  the  bridge, 
the  three  men  turned  and  leaped ;  —  and  one 
caught  the  horse's  bridle  ;  and  another  gripped  the 
officer's  arm  ;  and  the  third  cut  off  his  head  —  all 
in  a  moment.  .  .  ." 

"  The  officer's  head  ?  " 

"  Yes  —  he  did  not  even  have  time  to  shout 
before  his  head  was  off.  .  .  .  I  never  saw  any 
thing  done  so  quickly.  Not  one  of  the  three 
men  uttered  a  word." 

"  And  then  ?  " 

"  Then  they  pitched  the  body  over  the  railing 
into  the  river ;  and  one  of  them  struck  the  horse, 
—  hard  ;  and  the  horse  ran  away.  .  .  ." 

"  Back  to  the  town  ?  " 

"No  —  the  horse  was  driven  straight  out  over 
the  bridge,  into  the  country.  .  .  .  The  head  was 
not  thrown  into  the  river :  one  of  the  Satsuma 
men  kept  it  —  under  his  straw  cloak.  .  .  .  Then 
all  of  us  leaned  over  the  railing,  as  before,— 
looking  down.  My  knees  were  shaking.  The 


On  a  Bridge  239 

three  samurai  did  not  speak  a  single  word.  I 
could  not  even  hear  them  breathing.  I  was 
afraid  to  look  at  their  faces ;  —  I  kept  looking 
down  into  the  river.  .  .  .  After  a  little  while  I 
heard  another  horse,  —  and  my  heart  jumped  so 
that  I  felt  sick  ;  —  and  I  looked  up,  and  saw  a 
cavalry -soldier  coming  along  the  road,  riding  very 
fast.  No  one  stirred  till  he  was  on  the  bridge : 
then  —  in  one  second  —  his  head  was  off !  The 
body  was  thrown  into  the  river,  and  the  horse 
driven  away  —  exactly  as  before.  Three  men 
were  killed  like  that.  Then  the  samurai  left  the 
bridge." 

"  Did  you  go  with  them  ?  " 

"No:  they  left  immediately  after  having 
killed  the  third  man,  —  taking  the  heads  with 
them ;  —  and  they  paid  no  attention  to  me.  I 
stayed  on  the  bridge,  afraid  to  move,  until  they 
were  very  far  away.  Then  I  ran  back  to  the 
burning  town;  —  I  ran  quick,  quick!  There  I 
was  told  that  the  Satsuma  troops  were  retreating. 
Soon  afterwards,  the  army  came  from  Tokyo; 
and  I  was  given  some  work :  I  carried  straw  san 
dals  for  the  soldiers." 

"  Who  were  the  men  that  you  saw  killed  on 
the  bridge?" 


240          Japanese  Miscellany 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Did  you  never  try  to  find  out  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Heishichi,  again  mopping  his  fore 
head  :  "  I  said  nothing  about  the  matter  until  many 
years  after  the  war." 

"  But  why  ?  "  I  persisted. 

Heishichi  gave  me  one  astonished  look,  smiled 
in  a  pitying  way,  and  answered,  — 

" Because  it  would  have  been  wrong;  —  it 
would  have  been  ungrateful.1' 

I  felt  properly  rebuked. 

And  we  resumed  our  journey. 


The  Case  of  O-Dai 


"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother."  —  Deut.  v.  16. 
"  Hear  the  instruction  of  thy  father,  and  forsake  not  the 
law  of  thy  mother."  —  Proverbs  i.  8. 


The  Case  of  0-Dai 


i 


O-DAI  pushed  aside  the  lamplet  and  the 
incense-cup  and  the  water  vessel  on  the 
Buddha-shelf,  and  opened  the  little  shrine 
before  which  they  had  been  placed.  Within 
were  the  ihai,  the  mortuary  tablets  of  her  people, 
—  five  in  all;  and  a  gilded  figure  of  the  Bod- 
hisattva  Kwannon  stood  smiling  behind  them. 
The  thai  of  the  grandparents  occupied  the  left 
side ;  those  of  the  parents  the  right ;  and  between 
them  was  a  smaller  tablet,  bearing  the  haimyo 
of  a  child-brother  with  whom  she  used  to  play 
and  quarrel,  to  laugh  and  cry,  in  other  and  hap 
pier  years.  Also  the  shrine  contained  a  make- 
mono,  or  scroll,  inscribed  with  the  spirit-names 
of  many  ancestors.  Before  that  shrine,  from 
her  infancy,  O-Dai  had  been  wont  to  pray. 
243 


244          Japanese  Miscellany 

The  tablets  and  the  scroll  signified  more  to 
her  faith  in  former  time  —  very  much  more  — 
than  remembrance  of  a  father's  affection  and  a 
mother's  caress;  —  more  than  any  remembrance 
of  the  ever-loving,  ever-patient,  ever-smiling 
elders  who  had  fostered  her  babyhood,  carried 
her  pickaback  to  every  temple -festival,  invented 
her  pleasures,  consoled  her  small  sorrows,  and 
soothed  her  fretfulness  with  song;— more  than 
the  memory  of  the  laughter  and  the  tears,  the 
cooing  and  the  calling  and  the  running  of  the 
dear  and  mischievous  little  brother  ;  —  more  than 
all  the  traditions  of  the  ancestors. 

For  those  objects  signified  the  actual  viewless 
presence  of  the  lost, — the  haunting  of  invisible 
sympathy  and  tenderness,  —  the  gladness  and 
the  grief  of  the  dead  in  the  joy  and  the  sorrow 
of  the  living.  When,  in  other  time,  at  evening 
dusk,  she  was  wont  to  kindle  the  lamplet  before 
them,  how  often  had  she  seen  the  tiny  flame 
astir  with  a  motion  not  its  own ! 

Yet  the  thai  is  even  more  than  a  token  to 
pious  fancy.  Strange  possibilities  of  transmuta 
tion,  transubstantiation,  belong  to  it.  It  serves 
as  temporary  body  for  the  spirit  between  death 


The  Case  of  O-Dai          24? 

and  birth:  each  fibre  of  its  incense-penetrated 
wood  lives  with  a  viewless  life -potential.  The 
will  of  the  ghost  may  quicken  it.  Sometimes, 
through  power  of  love,  it  changes  to  flesh  and 
blood.  By  help  of  the  thai  the  buried  mother 
returns  to  suckle  her  babe  in  the  dark.  By  help 
of  the  thai,  the  maid  consumed  upon  the  funeral 
pyre  may  return  to  wed  her  betrothed,  —  even 
to  bless  him  with  a  son.  By  power  of  the  thai, 
the  dead  servant  may  come  back  from  the  dust 
of  his  rest  to  save  his  lord  from  ruin.  Then, 
after  love  or  loyalty  has  wrought  its  will,  the 
personality  vanishes ;  —  the  body  again  becomes, 
to  outward  seeming,  only  a  tablet. 

All  this  O-Dai  ought  to  have  known  and  re 
membered.  Maybe  she  did ;  for  she  wept  as 
she  took  the  tablets  and  the  scroll  out  of  the 
shrine,  and  dropped  them  from  a  window  into 
the  river  below.  She  did  not  dare  to  look  after 
them,  as  the  current  whirled  them  away. 

II 

O-DAi  had  done  this  by  order  of  two  English 
missionary-women  who,  by  various  acts  of  seem- 


246          Japanese  Miscellany 

ing  kindness,  had  persuaded  her  to  become  a 
Christian.  (Converts  are  always  commanded 
to  bury  or  to  cast  away  their  ancestral  tablets.) 
These  missionary-women  —  the  first  ever  seen 
in  the  province  —  had  promised  O-Dai,  their 
only  convert,  an  allowance  of  thrtzyen  a  month, 
as  assistant,  —  because  she  could  read  and  write. 
By  the  toil  of  her  hands  she  had  never  been 
able  to  earn  more  than  two  yen  a  month;  and 
out  of  that  sum  she  had  to  pay  a  rent  of  twenty - 
five  sen  for  the  use  of  the  upper  floor  of  a  little 
house,  belonging  to  a  dealer  in  second-hand 
goods.  Thither,  after  the  death  of  her  parents, 
she  had  taken  her  loom,  and  the  ancestral  tablets. 
She  had  been  obliged  to  work  very  hard  indeed 
in  order  to  live.  But  with  three  yen  a  month 
she  could  live  very  well ;  and  the  missionary- 
women  had  a  room  for  her.  She  did  not  think 
that  the  people  would  mind  her  change  of 
religion. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  they  did  not  much  care. 
They  did  not  know  anything  about  Christianity, 
and  did  not  want  to  know:  they  only  laughed 
at  the  girl  for  being  so  foolish  as  to  follow  the 
ways  of  the  foreign  women.  They  regarded 
her  as  a  dupe,  and  mocked  her  without  malice. 


The  Case  of  O-Dai          247 

And  they  continued  to  laugh  at  her,  good- 
humoredly  enough,  until  the  day  when  she  was 
seen  to  throw  the  tablets  into  the  river.  Then 
they  stopped  laughing.  They  judged  the  act 
in  itself,  without  discussing  its  motives.  Their 
judgment  was  instantaneous,  unanimous,  and 
voiceless.  They  said  no  word  of  reproach  to 
O-Dai.  They  merely  ignored  her  existence. 

The  moral  resentment  of  a  Japanese  com 
munity  is  not  always  a  hot  resentment,  —  not 
the  kind  that  quickly  burns  itself  out.  It  may 
be  cold.  In  the  case  of  O-Dai  it  was  cold  and 
silent  and  heavy  like  a  thickening  of  ice.  No 
one  littered  it.  It  was  altogether  spontaneous, 
instinctive.  But  the  universal  feeling  might 
have  been  thus  translated  into  speech:  — 

"  Human  society,  in  this  most  eastern  East, 
has  been  held  together  from  immemorial  time 
by  virtue  of  that  cult  which  exacts  the  gratitude 
of  the  present  to  the  past,  the  reverence  of  the 
living  for  the  dead,  the  affection  of  the  descend 
ant  for  the  ancestor.  Far  beyond  the  visible 
world  extends  the  duty  of  the  child  to  the 
parent,  of  the  servant  to  the  master,  of  the 


248          Japanese  Miscellany 

subject  to  the  sovereign.  Therefore  do  the  dead 
preside  in  the  family  council,  in  the  communal 
assembly,  in  the  high  seats  of  judgment,  in  the 
governing  of  cities,  in  the  ruling  of  the  land. 

"  Against  the  Virtue  Supreme  of  Filial  Piety,— 
against  the  religion  of  the  Ancestors,  —  against 
all  faith  and  gratitude  and  reverence  and  duty,  — 
against  the  total  moral  experience  of  her  race,  — 
O-Dai  has  sinned  the  sin  that  cannot  be  forgiven. 
Therefore  shall  the  people  account  her  a  creature 
impure,  —  less  deserving  of  fellowship  than  the 
Eta,  —  less  worthy  of  kindness  than  the  dog  in 
the  street  or  the  cat  upon  the  roof;  since  even 
these,  according  to  their  feebler  light,  observe  the 
common  law  of  duty  and  affection. 

"O-Dai  has  refused  to  her  dead  the  word  of 
thankfulness,  the  whisper  of  love,  the  reverence 
of  a  daughter.  Therefore,  now  and  forever,  the 
living  shall  refuse  to  her  the  word  of  greeting, 
the  common  salutation,  the  kindly  answer. 

"  O-Dai  has  mocked  the  memory  of  the  father 
who  begot  her,  the  memory  of  the  mother  whose 
breasts  she  sucked,  the  memory  of  the  elders  who 
cherished  her  childhood,  the  memory  of  the  little 
one  who  called  her  Sister.  She  has  mocked  at 


The  Case  of  0-Dai          249 

love:  therefore  all  love  shall  be  denied  her,  all 
offices  of  affection. 

"To  the  spirit  of  the  father  who  begot  her, 
to  the  spirit  of  the  mother  who  bore  her,  O-Dai 
has  refused  the  shadow  of  a  roof,  and  the  vapor 
of  food,  and  the  offering  of  water.  Even  so  to 
her  shall  be  denied  the  shelter  of  a  roof,  and  the 
gift  of  food,  and  the  cup  of  refreshment. 

"  And  even  as  she  cast  out  the  dead,  the  living 
shall  cast  her  out.  As  a  carcass  shall  she  be  in 
the  way,  —  as  the  small  carrion  that  none  will 
turn  to  look  upon,  that  none  will  bury,  that  none 
will  pity,  that  none  will  speak  for  in  prayer  to 
the  Gods  and  the  Buddhas.  As  a  Gaki1  she 
shall  be,  —  as  a  Sbojiki-Gahi, — seeking  suste 
nance  in  refuse-heaps.  Alive  into  hell  shall  she 
enter ;  —  yet  shall  her  hell  remain  the  single  hell, 
the  solitary  hell,  the  hell  Kodoku,  that  spheres 
the  spirit  accurst  in  solitude  of  fire.  .  .  ." 

Ill 

UNEXPECTEDLY  the  missionary- women  informed 
O-Dai  that  she  would  have  to  take  care  of 
herself.  Perhaps  she  had  done  her  best;  but 

1  Preta. 


2t>0          Japanese  Miscellany 

she  certainly  had  not  been  to  them  of  any  use 
whatever,  and  they  required  a  capable  assistant. 
Moreover  they  were  going  away  for  some  time, 
and  could  not  take  her  with  them.  Surely  she 
could  not  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  think  that 
they  were  going  to  give  her  three  yen  per  month 
merely  for  being  a  Christian !  .  .  . 

O-Dai  cried;  and  they  advised  her  to  be 
brave,  and  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  virtue.  She 
said  that  she  could  not  find  employment :  they 
told  her  that  no  industrious  and  honest  person 
need  ever  want  for  work  in  this  busy  world. 
Then,  in  desperate  terror,  she  told  them  truths 
which  they  could  not  understand,  and  energeti 
cally  refused  to  believe.  She  spoke  of  a  danger 
imminent;  and  they  answered  her  with  all  the 
harshness  of  which  they  were  capable,  —  believ 
ing  that  she  had  confessed  herself  utterly  de 
praved.  In  this  they  were  wrong.  There  was 
no  atom  of  vice  in  the  girl:  an  amiable  weak 
ness  and  a  childish  trustfulness  were  the  worst 
of  her  faults.  Really  she  needed  help,  —  needed 
it  quickly,  —  needed  it  terribly.  But  they  could 
understand  only  that  she  wanted  money;  and 
that  she  had  threatened  to  commit  sin  if  she 
did  not  get  it.  They  owed  her  nothing,  as  she 


The  Case  of  O-Dai 

had  always  been  paid  in  advance  ;  and  they  imag 
ined  excellent  reasons  for  denying  her  further  aid 
of  any  sort. 

So  they  put  her  into  the  street.  Already  she 
had  sold  her  loom.  She  had  nothing  more  to 
sell  except  the  single  robe  upon  her  back,  and 
a  few  pair  of  useless  tabi,  or  cleft  stockings, 
which  the  missionary-women  had  obliged  her 
to  buy,  because  they  thought  that  it  was  im 
modest  for  a  young  girl  to  be  seen  with  naked 
feet.  (They  had  also  obliged  her  to  twist  her 
hair  into  a  hideous  back-knot,  because  the  Jap 
anese  style  of  wearing  the  hair  seemed  to  them 
ungodly.) 

What  becomes  of  the  Japanese  girl  publicly 
convicted  of  offending  against  filial  piety  ?  What 
becomes  of  the  English  girl  publicly  convicted 
of  unchastity?  .  .  . 

Of  course,  had  she  been  strong,  O-Dai  might 
have  filled  her  sleeves  with  stones,  and  thrown 
herself  into  the  river,  —  which  would  have  been 
an  excellent  thing  to  do  under  the  circumstances. 
Or  she  might  have  cut  her  throat,  —  which  is 
more  respectable,  as  the  act  requires  both  nerve 
and  skill.  But,  like  most  converts  of  her  class, 


Japanese  Miscellany 

O-Dai  was  weak :  the  courage  of  the  race  had 
failed  in  her.  She  wanted  still  to  see  the  sun ; 
and  she  was  not  of  the  sturdy  type  able  to 
wrestle  with  the  earth  for  that  privilege.  Even 
after  fully  abjuring  her  errors,  there  was  left 
but  one  road  for  her  to  travel. 

Said  the  person  who  bought  the  body  of 
O-Dai  at  a  third  of  the  price  prayed  for:  — 

"  My  business  is  an  exceedingly  shameful  busi 
ness.  But  even  into  this  business  no  woman  can 
be  received  who  is  known  to  have  done  the  thing 
that  you  have  done.  If  I  were  to  take  you  into 
my  house,  no  visitors  would  come ;  and  the 
people  would  probably  make  trouble.  There 
fore  to  Osaka,  where  you  are  not  known,  you 
shall  be  sent ;  and  the  house  in  Osaka  will  pay 
the  money.  .  .  ." 

So  vanished  forever  O-Dai, —  flung  into  the 
furnace  of  a  city's  lust.  .  .  .  Perhaps  she  existed 
only  to  furnish  one  example  of  facts  that  every 
foreign  missionary  ought  to  try  to  understand. 


Beside  the  Sea 


Beside  the  Sea 

* 
I 

THE  Buddhist  priests  had  announced  that 
a  Segaki-service,  in  behalf  of  all  the 
drowned  folk  of  Yaidzu,  would  be  held 
on  the  shore  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
Yaidzu  is  an  ancient  place —  (it  is  mentioned, 
under  the  name  of  "  Yakidzu,"  in  the  oldest 
chronicles  of  Japan) ;  —  and  for  thousands  of 
years  the  fishers  of  Yaidzu  have  been  regularly 
paying  their  toll  of  life  to  the  great  deep.  And 
the  announcement  of  the  priests  reminded  me  of 
something  very  much  older  than  Buddhism,  - 
the  fancy  that  the  spirits  of  the  drowned  move 
with  the  waters  forever.  According  to  this 
belief,  the  sea  off  Yaidzu  must  be  thick  with 
souls.  .  .  . 

Early  in  the  afternoon  I  went  to  the  shore  to 
observe  preparations ;  and  I  found  a  multitude  of 
people  already  there  assembled.     It  was  a  burn- 
255 


2!>6  Japanese  Miscellany 

ing  July  day  —  not  a  speck  of  cloud  visible ;  and 
the  coarse  shingle  of  the  slope,  under  the  blaze  of 
sun,  was  radiating  heat  like  slag  just  raked  from 
a  furnace.  But  those  fisher-folk,  tanned  to  all 
tints  of  bronze,  did  not  mind  the  sun :  they  sat 
on  the  scorching  stones,  and  waited.  The  sea 
was  at  ebb,  and  gentle,  —  moving  in  slow,  long, 
lazy  ripples. 

Upon  the  beach  there  had  been  erected  a  kind 
of  rude  altar,  about  four  feet  high ;  and  on  this 
had  been  placed  an  immense  ibai,  or  mortuary 
tablet,  of  unpainted  wood,  —  the  back  of  the  tab 
let  being  turned  to  the  sea.  The  ibai  bore,  in 
large  Chinese  characters,  the  inscription,  Sangai- 
Ban-Rei-I,  — signifying,  "  Resting-place  [or,  seat] 
of  the  myriad  [innumerable]  spirits  of  the  Three 
States  of  Existence."  Various  food -offerings  had 
been  set  before  this  tablet,  —  including  a  bowl  of 
cooked  rice ;  rice-cakes  ;  eggplants  ;  pears  ;  and, 
piled  upon  a  fresh  lotos  leaf,  a  quantity  of  what 
is  called  byaku-mi-no-onjiki.  It  is  really  a  mix 
ture  of  rice  and  sliced  eggplant,  though  the  name 
implies  one  hundred  different  kinds  of  nourish 
ment.  In  the  bowl  of  boiled  rice  tiny  sticks  were 
fixed,  with  cuttings  of  colored  paper  attached  to 


^$3£*£^-rM- 


Beside  the  Sea 

them.  I  also  observed  candles,  a  censer,  some 
bundles  of  incense-rods,  a  vessel  of  water,  and  a 
pair  of  bamboo  cups  containing  sprays  of  the 
sacred  plant  shikimi.1  Beside  the  water-vessel 
there  had  been  laid  a  bunch  of  misohagi,*  with 
which  to  sprinkle  water  upon  the  food -offerings, 
according  to  the  prescriptions  of  the  rite. 

To  each  of  the  four  posts  supporting  the  altar 
a  freshly-cut  bamboo  had  been  attached;  and 
other  bamboos  had  been  planted  in  the  beach,  to 
right  and  left  of  the  structure ;  and  to  every  bam 
boo  was  fastened  a  little  banner  inscribed  with 
Chinese  characters.  The  banners  of  the  bamboos 
at  the  four  corners  of  the  altar  bore  the  names 
and  attributes  of  the  Four  Deva  Kings,  —  Zocho 
Tenno,  guardian  of  the  West;  Jikoku  Tenno, 
guardian  of  the  East ;  Tamon  Tenno,  guardian  of 
the  North ;  and  Komoku  Tenno,  guardian  of  the 
South. 

In  front  of  the  altar  straw-mattings  had  been 
laid,  so  as  to  cover  a  space  of  beach  about  thirty 
feet  long  by  fifteen  wide  ;  and  above  this  matted 
space  awnings  of  blue  cotton  had  been  rigged  up, 
to  shelter  the  priests  from  the  sun.  I  squatted 

1  Illicium  religiosum. 

2  A  kind  of  bush-clover. 

17 


Japanese  Miscellany 

down  awhile  under  the  awnings  to  make  a  rough 
drawing  (afterwards  corrected  and  elaborated  by 
a  Japanese  friend)  of  the  altar  and  the  offerings. 

The  service  was  not  held  at  the  appointed 
time:  it  must  have  been  nearly  three  o'clock 
when  the  priests  made  their  appearance.  There 
were  seven  of  them,. in  vestments  of  great  cere 
mony  ;  and  they  were  accompanied  by  acolytes 
carrying  bells,  books,  stools,  reading-stands,  and 
other  necessary  furniture.  Priests  and  acolytes 
took  their  places  under  the  blue  awning;  the 
spectators  standing  outside,  in  the  sun.  Only 
one  of  the  priests,  —  the  chief  officiant,  —  sat 
facing  the  altar ;  the  others,  with  their  acolytes, 
seated  themselves  to  right  and  left  of  him,  —  so 
as  to  form  two  ranks,  facing  each  other. 

II 

AFTER  some  preliminary  rearrangement  of  the 
offerings  upon  the  altar,  and  the  kindling  of  some 
incense-rods,  the  ceremony  proper  began  with  a 
Buddhist  hymn,  or  gatha,  which  was  chanted  to 
the  accompaniment  of  hydsbigi1  and  of  bells. 

1  Hyosbigi  are  small  blocks  of  hard  wood,  which  are 
used,  either  for  signalling  or  for  musical  purposes,  by  strik- 


Beside  the  Sea 

There  were  two  bells,  —  a  large  deep-sounding 
bell ;  and  a  small  bell  of  very  sweet  tone,  —  in 
charge  of  a  little  boy.  The  big  bell  was  tapped 
slowly  ;  the  little  bell  was  sounded  rapidly ;  and 
the  bydslrigi  rattled  almost  like  a  pair  of  castanets. 
And  the  effect  of  the  gathl  as  chanted  by  all 
the  officiants  in  unison,  with  this  extraordinary 
instrumentation,  was  not  less  impressive  than 
strange :  — 

Biku  Bikuni 
Hosshin  hdji 
Ikki  jo-jihi, 
Fusejippo, 
Kyu-jin  koku, 
Slmlmi  hokai, 
Mijin  setclou 
Sho-u  kokudo, 
Issai  gaki ; 
Senbo  kyumetsu, 
Sansen  chishu, 
Naisbi  hoya, 
Sho-kijin  to, 
Shorai  sloushi.  , 


ing  them  quickly  together  so  as  to  produce  a  succession  of 
sharp  dry  sounds. 


260          Japanese  Miscellany 

This  brief  sonorous  metre  seemed  to  me  partic 
ularly  well  adapted  for  invocatory  or  incantatory 
chanting;  and  the  gathi  of  the  segaki-strvice 
was  indeed  a  veritable  incantation,  —  as  the  fol 
lowing  free  translation  will  make  manifest :  — 

"  We,  Bhikshus  and  Bhikunis,  devoutly  presenting  this 
vessel  of  pure  food,  do  offer  the  same  to  all,  without  excep 
tion,  of  the  Pretas  dwelling  in  the  Ten  Directions  of  Space, 
in  the  surrounding  Dharma-worlds,  and  in  every  part  of 
the  Earth,  —  not  excepting  the  smallest  atom  of  dust  within 
a  temple.  And  also  to  the  spirits  of  those  long  dead  and 
passed  away,  —  and  likewise  unto  the  Lord-Spirits  of  moun 
tain  and  river  and  soil,  and  of  waste  places.  —  Hither  deign 
therefore  to  approach  and  to  gather,  all  ye  goblins  !  —  we 
now,  out  of  our  pity  and  compassion,  desire  to  give  you 
food.  We  wish  that  each  and  all  of  you  may  enjoy  this 
our  food-gift.  And  moreover  we  shall  pray,  doing  homage 
to  all  the  Buddhas  and  to  all  the  Heavenly  Ones  who  dwell 
within  the  Zones  of  Formlessness,  that  you,  and  that  all 
beings  having  desire,  may  be  enabled  to  obtain  content 
ment.  We  shall  pray  that  all  of  you,  by  virtue  of  the  utter 
ance  of  the  dharanis,  and  by  the  enjoyment  of  this  food- 
offering,  may  find  the  higher  knowledge,  and  be  freed  from 
every  pain,  and  soon  obtain  rebirth  in  the  Zone  Celestial, — 
there  to  know  every  bliss,  moving  freely  in  all  the  Ten 
Directions,  and  finding  everywhere  delight.  —  Awaken 
within  yourselves  the  Bodhi-Mind  !  —  follow  the  Way  of 
Enlightenment !  Rise  to  Buddhahood  !  Turn  ye  no  more 
backward  !  —  neither  linger  on  the  path  !  Let  such  among 
you  as  first  obtain  the  Way  vow  each  to  lead  up  the  rest, 
and  so  become  free  !  —  Also  we  beseech  you  now  to  watch 


Beside  the  Sea  261 

over  us  and  to  guard  us,  by  night  and  by  day.  And  help  us 
even  now  to  obtain  our  desire  in  bestowing  this  food  upon 
you,  —  that  the  merit  produced  by  this  action  may  be 
extended  to  all  beings  dwelling  within  the  Dharma-worlds, 
and  that  the  power  of  this  merit  may  help  to  spread  the 
Truth  through  all  those  Dharma-worlds,  and  help  all  beings 
therein  to  find  the  Supreme  Enlightenment,  and  to  obtain 
all  wisdom. —  And  we  now  pray  that  all  your  acts  hereafter 
may  serve  to  gain  for  you  the  merit  that  will  help  you  to 
Buddhahood.  And  thus  we  desire  that  you  quickly  become 
Buddhas." 

Then  began  the  most  curious  part  of  the  ser 
vice,  —  namely,  the  sprinkling  and  the  presenta 
tion  of  the  food-offerings,  with  recitation  of 
certain  dharams,  or  magical  verses,  composed  of 
talismanic  Sanscrit  words.  This  portion  of  the 
rite  was  brief ;  but  to  recount  all  its  details  would 
require  much  space,  —  every  utterance  or  gesture 
of  the  officiant  being  made  according  to  rule. 
For  example,  the  hands  and  fingers  of  the  priest, 
during  the  recital  of  any  (Mrani,  must  be  held  in 
a  position  prescribed  for  that  particular  d ha* rani. 
But  the  principal  incidents  of  this  complicated 
ritual  are  about  as  follows: 

First  of  all  is  recited,  seven  times,  the  Dharam 
of  Invitation,  to  summon  the  spirits  from  the  Ten 
Directions  of  Space.  During  its  recitation  the 
officiant  must  hold  out  his  right  hand,  with 


262          Japanese  Miscellany 

the  tip  of  the  middle  finger  touching  the  tip  of 
the  thumb,  and  the  rest  of  the  fingers  extended. 
Then  is  recited,  with  a  different,  but  equally 
weird  gesture,  the  Dharam  of  the  Breaking 
of  the  Gates  of  Hell.  Next  is  repeated  the 
Se-Kanro  verse,  or  Dharam  of  the  Bestowal  of 
the  Amrita,  —  by  virtue  of  which  it  is  supposed 
that  the  food-offerings  are  transformed,  for  the 
sake  of  the  ghosts,  into  heavenly  nectar  and  am 
brosia.  And  thereafter  is  chanted,  three  times, 
an  invocation  to  the  Five  Tathagatas :  — 

"  Salutation  to  Hosho  Nyorai,  —  hereby  besought  to 
relieve  [the  Pretax]  from  the  karma  of  all  desire,  and  to  fill 
them  with  bliss ! 

"Salutation  to  Myo-Shikishin-Nyorai,—  besought  to 
take  away  from  them  every  imperfection  of  form  I 

"Salutation  to  Kanro-O-Nyorai, —  besought  to  purify 
their  bodies  and  their  minds,  and  to  give  them  peace  of 
heart ! 

"Salutation  to  Kobaku-Shin-Nyorai,  —  besought  to 
favor  them  with  the  delight  of  excellent  taste  ! 

"Salutation  to  Rifui-Nyorai, —  besought  to  free  them 
from  all  their  fears,  and  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  World 
of  Hungry  Spirits  !  " 

The  book  Bongyo  Segaki-Monben  says :  - 
11  When  the  officiants  have  thus  recited  the 
names  of  the  Five  Tathagatas,  then,  by  the  grace  of 
the  power  of  those  Buddhas,  all  the  Pretas  shall  be 


Beside  the  Sea  263 

liberated  from  the  karma  of  their  former  errors,  — 
shall  experience  immeasurable  bliss,  —  shall  re 
ceive  excellent  features  and  complete  bodies, — 
shall  be  rid  of  all  their  terrors,  —  and,  after  hav 
ing  partaken  of  the  food -offerings  which  have 
been  changed  for  them  into  amrita  of  delightful 
taste,  shall  soon  be  reborn  into  the  Pure  Land 
[Jddd]." 

After  the  invocation  of  the  Five  Tathagatas, 
other  verses  are  recited ;  and  during  this  recita 
tion  the  food-offerings  are  removed,  one  by  one. 
(There  is  a  mysterious  regulation  that,  after  hav 
ing  been  taken  from  the  altar,  they  must  not  be 
placed  under  a  willow-tree,  a  peach-tree,  or  a 
pomegranate-tree.)  Last  of  all  is  recited  the  Dhar- 
ani  of  Dismissal,  seven  times,  —  the  priest  each 
time  snapping  his  fingers  as  a  signal  to  the  ghosts 
that  they  are  free  to  return.  This  is  called  the 
Hakken,  or  Sending -A  way. 


Ill 

THE  sea  never  ebbs  far  on  this  steep  coast,  - 
though  it  often  rises  tremendously,  breaking  into 
the  town ;  and  its  gentler  moods  are  not  to  be 


264          Japanese  Miscellany 

trusted.  By  way  of  precaution  the  posts  of  the 
zte'-stand  had  been  driven  deeply  into  the  beach. 
The  event  proved  that  this  precaution  had  not 
been  taken  in  vain ;  for  the  rite  began,  owing  to 
the  delay  of  the  priests,  only  with  the  turn  of  the 
tide.  Even  while  the  gatha  was  being  chanted, 
the  sea  roughened  and  darkened ;  and  then,  — 
as  if  the  outer  deep  responded,  —  the  thunder-roll 
of  a  great  breaker  suddenly  smothered  the  voices 
of  the  singers  and  the  clanging  of  the  bells.  Soon 
another  heavy  surge  boomed  along  the  shore,  — 
then  another ;  and  during  the  reciting  of  the 
dharams  the  service  could  be  heard  only  in  the 
intervals  of  wave-bursts,  —  while  the  foam  sheeted 
up  the  slope,  whirling  and  hissing  even  to  within 
a  few  paces  of  the  altar.  .  .  . 

And  again  I  found  myself  thinking  of  the  old 
belief  in  some  dim  relation  between  the  dead  and 
the  sea.  In  that  moment  the  primitive  fancy  ap 
peared  to  me  much  more  reasonable  and  more 
humane  than  the  ghastly  doctrine  of  a  Preta- 
world,  with  its  thirty-six  orders  of  hideous  misery, 
-  its  swarms  of  goblins  hungering  and  burning ! 
.  .  .  Nay,  the  poor  dead !  —  why  should  they  be 
thus  deformed  and  doomed  by  human  judgment  ? 


Beside  the  Sea  26? 

Wiser  and  kindlier  to  dream  of  them  as  mingling 
with  flood  and  wind  and  cloud,  —  or  quickening 
the  heart  of  the  flower,  —  or  flushing  the  cheek 
of  the  fruit,  —  or  shrilling  with  the  cicadas  in 
forest-solitudes,  —  or  thinly  humming  in  summer- 
dusk  with  the  gathering  of  the  gnats.  ...  I  do 
not  believe,  —  I  do  not  wish  to  believe  in  hungry 

ghosts Ghosts  break  up,  I  suppose,  into 

soul-dust  at  the  touch  of  death,  —  though  their 
atoms,  doubtless,  thereafter  recombine  with  other 
dust  for  the  making  of  other  ghosts.  .  .  .  Still, 
I  cannot  convince  myself  that  even  the  grosser 
substance  of  vanished  being  ever  completely  dies, 
however  dissolved  or  scattered,  —  fleeting  in  the 
gale,  —  floating  in  the  mists,  —  shuddering  in  the 
leaf,  —  flickering  in  the  light  of  waters,  —  or 
tossed  on  some  desolate  coast  in  a  thunder 
of  surf,  to  whiten  and  writhe  in  the  clatter  of 
shingle.  .  .  . 

As  the  ceremony  ended,  a  fisherman  mounted 
lightly  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  awning-posts ; 
and  there,  gymnastically  poised,  he  began  to 
shower  down  upon  the  crowd  a  quantity  of  very 
small  rice- cakes,  which  the  young  folks  scrambled 
for,  with  shouts  of  laughter.  After  the  uncanny 


266  Japanese  Miscellany 

solemnity  of  that  rite,  the  outburst  of  merriment 
was  almost  startling;  but  I  found  it  also  very 
natural,  and  pleasant,  and  human.  Meanwhile 
the  seven  priests  departed  in  many-colored  pro 
cession, —  their  acolytes  trudging  wearily  behind 
them,  under  much  weight  of  stands  and  stools 
and  bells.  Soon  the  assembly  scattered,  —  all  the 
rice -cakes  having  been  distributed  and  appropri 
ated  ;  —  then  the  altar,  the  awnings,  the  mattings 
were  removed ;  —  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time 
every  trace  of  the  strange  ceremony  had  disap 
peared.  ...  I  looked  about  me;  — I  was  alone 
upon  the  beach.  .  .  .  There  was  no  sound  but 
the  sound  of  the  returning  tide :  a  muttering 
enormous,  appalling,  —  as  of  some  Life  innom- 
inable,  that  had  been  at  peace,  awakened  to 
immeasurable  pain.  .  .  . 


Drifting 


Drifting 


A  TYPHOON  was  coming;  and  I  sat  on 
the  sea-wall  in  a  great  wind  to  look  at 
the  breakers;  and  old  Amano  Jinsuke 
sat  beside  me.  Southeast  all  was  black-blue 
gloom,  except  the  sea,  which  had  a  strange  and 
tawny  color.  Enormous  surges  were  already 
towering  in.  A  hundred  yards  away  they 
crumbled  over  with  thunder  and  earthquake, 
and  sent  their  foam  leaping  and  sheeting  up 
the  slope,  to  spring  at  our  faces.  After  each 
long  crash,  the  sound  of  the  shingle  retreating 
was  exactly  like  the  roar  of  a  railway  train  at 
full  speed.  I  told  Amano  Jinsuke  that  it  made 
me  afraid  ;  and  he  smiled. 

"  I  swam  for  two  nights  and  two  days,"  he 
said,  "  in  a  sea  worse  than  this.     I  was  nineteen 
years  old  at  the  time.    Out  of  a  crew  of  eight, 
I  was  the  only  man  saved. 
269 


270          Japanese  Miscellany 

"Our  ship  was  called  the  Fukuju  Maru;1- 
she  was  owned  by  Mayeda  Jingoro,  of  this  town. 
All  of  the  crew  but  one  were  Yaidzu  men.  The 
captain  was  Saito  Kichiyemon, —  a  man  more 
than  sixty  years  of  age :  he  lived  in  J6-no- 
Koshi,  —  the  street  just  behind  us.  There  was 
another  old  man  on  board,  called  Nito  Shoshichi, 
who  lived  in  the  Araya  quarter.  Then  there 
was  Terao  Kankichi,  forty-two  years  old:  his 
brother  Minosuke,  a  lad  of  sixteen,  was  also 
with  us.  The  Terao  folk  lived  in  Araya.  Then 
there  was  Saito  Heikichi,  thirty  years  old ;  and 
there  was  a  man  called  Matsushiro ;  —  he  came 
from  Suo,  but  had  settled  in  Yaidzu.  Washino 
Otokichi  was  another  of  the  crew:  he  lived 
in  J6-no-Koshi,  and  was  only  twenty-one.  I 
was  the  youngest  on  board,  —  excepting  Terao 
Minosuke. 

"  We  sailed  from  Yaidzu  on  the  morning  of 
the  tenth  day  of  the  seventh  month  of  Manyen 
Gwannen,2  — the  Year  of  the  Ape,  — bound  for 
Sanuki.  On  the  night  of  the  eleventh,  in  the 


1  The  word  Fukuju  signifies  "  Fortunate  Longevity." 

2  That  is  to  say  the  first,  or  coronation-year,  of  the 
Period  Manyen,—  1860-1861. 


Drifting  271 

Kishu  offing,  we  were  caught  by  a  typhoon  from 
the  southeast.  A  little  before  midnight,  the 
ship  capsized.  As  I  felt  her  going  over,  I  caught 
a  plank,  and  threw  it  out,  and  jumped.  It  was 
blowing  fearfully  at  the  time;  and  the  night 
was  so  dark  that  I  could  see  only  a  few  feet 
away;  but  I  was  lucky  enough  to  find  that 
plank,  and  put  it  under  me.  In  another  moment 
the  ship  was  gone.  Near  me  in  the  water  were 
Washino  Otokichi  and  the  Terao  brothers  and 
the  man  Matsushiro, —  all  swimming.  There 
was  no  sign  of  the  rest :  they  probably  went 
down  with  the  ship.  We  five  kept  calling  to 
each  other  as  we  went  up  and  down  with  the 
great  seas ;  and  I  found  that  every  one  except 
Terao  Kankichi  had  a  plank  or  a  timber  of  some 
sort.  1  cried  to  Kankichi :  — '  Elder  brother,  you 
have  children,  and  I  am  very  young;  —  let  me 
give  you  this  plank  ! '  He  shouted  back  :  —  'In 
this  sea  a  plank  is  dangerous !  —  keep  away  from 
timber,  Jinyo !  —  you  may  get  hurt ! '  Before 
I  could  answer  him,  a  wave  like  a  black  moun 
tain  burst  over  us.  I  was  a  long  time  under ;  and 
when  I  came  up  again,  there  was  no  sign  of 
Kankichi.  The  younger  men  were  still  swim 
ming;  but  they  had  been  swept  away  to  the 


272          Japanese  Miscellany 

left  of  me ;  —  I  could  not  see  them  :  we  shouted 
to  each  other.    I  tried  to  keep  with  the  waves 

—  the  others  called  to  me :  — '  Jinyo !  Jinyo !  - 
come  this  way,  —  this  way ! '    But  I  knew  that 
to  go  in  their  direction  would  be  very  danger 
ous;    for  every  time  that  a  wave  struck   me 
sideways,  I  was  taken  under.    So  I  called  back 
to  them  ,  *  Keep  with  the  tide  !  —  keep  with  the 
current ! '    But  they  did  not  seem  to  understand ; 

—  and  they  still  called  to  me,  '  Kocclri  e  koi  I  — 
kocchi  e  koi ! ' l  —  and    their  voices  each  time 
sounded  more  and  more  far  away.      I   became 
afraid  to  answer.  .  .  .  The  drowned  call  to  you 
like  that  when  they  want  company:   Kocchi  e 
hoi!  —  kocchi  e  koi!  .  .  . 

"  After  a  little  time  the  calling  ceased ;  and  I 
heard  only  the  sea  and  the  wind  and  the  rain. 
It  was  so  dark  that  one  could  see  the  waves 
only  at  the  moment  they  went  by,  —  high  black 
shadows,  —  each  with  a  great  pull.  By  the  pull 
of  them  1  guessed  how  to  direct  myself.  The 
rain  kept  them  from  breaking  much;  —  had  it 
not  been  for  the  rain,  no  man  could  have  lived 
long  in  such  a  sea.  And  hour  after  hour  the 


1  "  Come  this  wayl" 


Drifting  273 

wind  became  worse,  and  the  swells  grew  higher ; 
—  and  I  prayed  for  help  to  Jizo-Sama  of  Ogawa 
all  that  night.  .  .  .  Lights?  —  yes,  there  were 
lights  in  the  water,  but  not  many :  the  large 
kind,  that  shine  like  candles.  .  .  . 

"  At  dawn  the  sea  looked  ugly,  —  a  muddy 
green ;  and  the  waves  were  like  hills ;  and  the 
wind  was  terrible.  Rain  and  spray  made  a  fog 
over  the  water  ;  and  there  was  no  horizon.  But 
even  if  there  had  been  land  in  sight  I  could  have 
done  nothing  except  try  to  keep  afloat.  I  felt 
hungry,  —  very  hungry  ;  and  the  pain  of  the 
hunger  soon  became  hard  to  bear.  All  that  day 
I  went  up  and  down  with  the  great  waves, - 
drifting  under  the  wind  and  the  rain ;  and  there 
was  no  sign  of  land.  I  did  not  know  where  I 
was  going:  under  that  sky  one  could  not  tell 
east  from  west. 

"  After  dark  the  wind  lulled  ;  but  the  rain  still 
poured,  and  all  was  black.  The  pain  of  the 
hunger  passed ;  but  I  felt  weak,  —  so  weak  that 
I  thought  I  must  go  under.  Then  I  heard  the 
voices  calling  me,  —  just  as  they  had  called  me 
the  night  before :  — '  KoccH  e  hoi !  —  hoccbi  e 
koir  .  .  .  And,  all  at  once,  I  saw  the  four  men 
of  the  Fukuju  Maru,  —  not  swimming,  but 

18 


274          Japanese  Miscellany 

standing  by  me,  —  Terao  Kankichi,  and  Terao 
Minosuke,  and  Washino  Otokichi,  and  the  man 
Matsushiro.  All  looked  at  me  with  angry  faces ; 
and  the  boy  Minosuke  cried  out,  as  in  reproach  : 
— '  Here  I  have  to  fix  the  helm ;  and  you,  Jin- 
suke,  do  nothing  but  sleep  ! '  Then  Terao  Kan 
kichi  —  the  one  to  whom  I  had  offered  the 
plank  —  bent  over  me  with  a  kakemono  in  his 
hands,  and  half-unrolled  it,  and  said :  —  *  Jinyo  ! 
here  I  have  a  picture  of  Amida  Buddha  —  see! 
Now  indeed  you  must  repeat  the  Nembutsu  I ' 
He  spoke  strangely,  in  a  way  that  made  me 
afraid :  I  looked  at  the  figure  of  the  Buddha ; 
and  I  repeated  the  prayer  in  great  fear,  —  Namu 
Amida  Butsu  !  —  namu  Amida  Butsu ! 1  In 
the  same  moment  a  pain,  like  the  pain  of  fire, 
stung  through  my  thighs  and  hips  ;  and  I  found 
that  1  had  rolled  off  the  plank  into  the  sea.  The 
pain  had  been  caused  by  a  great  katsno-no- 
ebosbi.  .  .  .  You  never  saw  a  katsuo-no-eboslri  ? 
It  is  a  jelly-fish  shaped  like  the  eboshi,  or  cap,  of 
a  Shinto  priest ;  and  we  call  it  the  katsuo-no- 
ebosbi  because  the  katsuo-fish  [bonito]  feed  upon 


1  This  invocation,  signifying  "  Salutation  to  the  Buddha 
Amitabha,"  is  commonly  repeated  as  a  prayer  for  the  dead. 


Drifting  27? 

it.  When  that  thing  appears  anywhere,  the 
fishermen  expect  to  catch  many  katsuo.  The 
body  is  clear  like  glass ;  but  underneath  there  is 
a  kind  of  purple  fringe,  and  long  purple  strings ; 
and  when  those  strings  touch  you,  the  pain  is 
very  great,  and  lasts  for  a  long  time.  .  .  .  That 
pain  revived  me ;  if  I  had  not  been  stung  I  might 
never  have  awakened.  I  got  on  the  plank  again, 
and  prayed  to  Jizo-Sama  of  Ogawa,  and  to  Kom- 
pira-Sama ;  and  I  was  able  to  keep  awake  until 
morning. 

"  Before  daylight  the  rain  stopped,  and  the  sky 
began  to  clear ;  for  I  could  see  some  stars.  At 
dawn  I  got  drowsy  again ;  and  I  was  awakened 
by  a  blow  on  the  head.  A  large  sea-bird  had 
struck  me.  The  sun  was  rising  behind  clouds ; 
and  the  waves  had  become  gentle.  Presently  a 
small  brown  bird  flew  by  my  face,  —  a  coast-bird 
(I  do  not  know  its  real  name)  ;  and  I  thought 
that  there  must  be  land  in  sight.  I  looked  behind 
me,  and  I  saw  mountains.  I  did  not  recognize 
the  shapes  of  them :  they  were  blue,  —  seemed  to 
be  nine  or  ten  ri  distant.  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  paddle  towards  them,  —  though  I  had  little 
hope  of  getting  to  shore.  I  was  feeling  hungry 
again,  —  terribly  hungry  ! 


276          Japanese  Miscellany 

"  I  paddled  towards  the  mountains,  hour  after 
hour.  Once  more  I  fell  asleep  ;  and  once  again 
a  sea-bird  struck  me.  All  day  I  paddled.  To 
wards  evening  I  could  tell,  from  the  look  of  the 
mountains,  that  I  was  approaching  them;  but  1 
knew  that  it  would  take  me  two  days  to  reach 
the  shore.  I  had  almost  ceased  to  hope  when  I 
caught  sight  of  a  ship,  —  a  big  junk.  She  was 
sailing  towards  me  ;  but  I  saw  that,  unless  1  could 
swim  faster,  she  would  pass  me  at  a  great  dis 
tance.  It  was  my  last  chance :  so  I  dropped  the 
plank,  and  swam  as  fast  as  I  could.  I  did  get 
within  about  two  cho  of  her  :  then  I  shouted. 
But  I  could  see  nobody  on  deck ;  and  1  got  no 
answer.  In  another  minute  she  had  passed  be 
yond  me.  The  sun  was  setting ;  and  I  despaired. 
All  of  a  sudden  a  man  came  on  deck,  and 
shouted  to  me  :  — '  Don't  try  to  swim  !  don't 
tire  yourself  !  —  we  are  going  to  send  a  boat ! '  I 
saw  the  sail  lowered  at  the  same  time ;  and  I  felt 
so  glad  that  new  strength  seemed  to  come  to  me  ; 
—  I  swam  on  fast.  Then  the  junk  dropped  a 
little  boat ;  and  as  the  boat  came  towards  me,  a 
man  called  out :  —  Ms  there  anybody  else  ?  - 
have  you  dropped  anything  ? '  I  answered  :  - 
4 1  had  nothing  but  a  plank.'  ...  In  the  same 


Drifting  277 

instant  all  my  strength  was  gone :  I  felt  the  men 
in  the  boat  pulling  me  up;  but  I  could  neither 
speak  nor  move,  and  everything  became  dark. 

"  After  a  time  I  heard  the  voices  again,  —  the 
voices  of  the  men  of  the  Fukuju  Maru  :  — 
'  Jinyo !  Jinyo ! '  —  and  1  was  frightened.  Then 
somebody  shook  me,  and  said  :  — '  Oi !  oi ! 1 
it  is  only  a  dream ! '  —  and  1  saw  that  I  was 
lying  in  the  junk,  under  a  hanging  lantern  (for 
it  was  night) ;  —  and  beside  me  an  old  man,  a 
stranger,  was  kneeling,  with  a  cup  of  boiled  rice 
in  his  hand.  '  Try  to  eat  a  little,'  he  said,  very 
kindly.  I  wanted  to  sit  up,  but  could  not :  then 
he  fed  me  himself,  out  of  the  cup.  When  it  was 
empty  1  asked  for  more ;  but  the  old  man  an 
swered  :  —  '  Not  now ;  — you  must  sleep  first.' 
I  heard  him  say  to  some  one  else :  — '  Give  him 
nothing  more  until  I  tell  you  :  if  you  let  him  eat 
much,  he  will  die.'  I  slept  again  ;  and  twice 
more  that  night  I  was  given  rice  —  soft-boiled 
rice  —  one  small  cupful  at  a  time. 

"  In  the  morning  1  felt  much  better ;  and  the 
old  man,  who  had  brought  me  the  rice,  came  and 
questioned  me.  When  he  heard  about  the  loss  of 

1  As  we  should  say,  "  Hey  !  hey  !  "  —  to  call  attention. 


278          Japanese  Miscellany 

our  ship,  and  the  time  that  I  had  been  in  the 
water,  he  expressed  great  pity  for  me.  He  told 
me  that  I  had  drifted,  in  those  two  nights  and 
days,  more  than  twenty-five  n'.1  *  We  went  after 
your  plank/  he  said,  '  and  picked  it  up.  Perhaps 
you  would  like  to  present  it  some  day  to  the 
temple  of  Kompira-Sama.'  I  thanked  him,  but 
answered  that  I  wanted  to  ofTer  it  to  the  temple 
of  Jizo-Sama  of  Ogawa,  at  Yaidzu;  for  it  was 
to  Jizo-Sama  of  Ogawa  that  I  had  most  often 
prayed  for  help. 

"  The  kind  old  man  was  the  captain,  and  also 
the  owner,  of  the  junk.  She  was  a  Banshu  ship, 
and  was  bound  for  the  port  of  Kuki,  in  Kishu. 
.  .  .  You  write  the  name,  Ku-ki,  with  the  charac 
ter  for  '  demon,'  —  so  that  it  means  the  Nine 
Demons.  ...  All  the  men  of  the  ship  were  very 
good  to  me.  I  was  naked,  except  for  a  loin 
cloth,  when  I  came  on  board ;  and  they  found 
clothes  for  me.  One  gave  me  an  under-robe, 
and  another  an  upper-robe,  and  another  a  girdle ; 
—  several  gave  me  towels  and  sandals ;  —  and  all 
of  them  together  made  up  a  gift  of  money  for 
me,  amounting  to  betv/een  six  and  seven  ryo. 

1  That  is  to  say,  about  sixty-three  English  miles. 


Drifting  279 

"  When  we  reached  Kuki  —  a  nice  little  place, 
though  it  has  a  queer  name  —  the  captain  took  me 
to  a  good  inn ;  and  after  a  few  days'  rest  I  got 
strong  again.  Then  the  governor  of  the  district, 
the  Jito,  as  we  called  him  in  those  days,  —  sent 
for  me,  and  heard  my  story,  and  had  it  written 
down.  He  told  me  that  he  would  have  to  send  a 
report  of  the  matter  to  the  Jito  of  the  Yaidzu 
district,  after  which  he  would  find  means  to  send 
me  home.  But  the  Banshu  captain,  who  had 
saved  me,  offered  to  take  me  home  in  his  own 
ship,  and  also  to  act  as  messenger  for  the  Jito ; 
and  there  was  much  argument  between  the  two. 
At  that  time  we  had  no  telegraph  and  no  post ; 
and  to  send  a  special  messenger  (hikyaku),  from 
Kuki  to  Yaidzu,1  would  have  cost  at  least  fifty 
ryo.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  particu 
lar  laws  and  customs  about  such  matters,  —  laws 
very  different  from  those  of  to-day.  Meanwhile 
a  Yaidzu  ship  came  to  the  neighboring  port  of 
Arasha;  and  a  woman  of  Kuki,  who  happened 
to  be  at  Arasha,  told  the  Yaidzu  captain  that  I 
was  at  Kuki.  The  Yaidzu  ship  then  came  to 
Kuki ;  and  the  Jito  decided  to  send  me  home  in 

The  distance  is  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 


280          Japanese  Miscellany 

charge  of  the  Yaidzu  captain,  —  giving  him  a 
written  order. 

"  Altogether,  it  was  about  a  month  from  the 
time  of  the  loss  of  the  Fukuju  Maru  when  I  re 
turned  to  Yaidzu.  We  reached  the  harbor  at 
night ;  and  I  did  not  go  home  at  once :  it  would 
have  frightened  my  people.  Although  no  certain 
news  of  the  loss  of  our  ship  had  then  been  re 
ceived  at  Yaidzu,  several  things  belonging  to  her 
had  been  picked  up  by  fishing-craft ;  and  as  the 
typhoon  had  come  very  suddenly,  with  a  terrible 
sea,  it  was  generally  believed  that  the  Fuhuju 
Maru  had  gone  down,  and  that  all  of  us  had 
been  drowned.  .  .  .  None  of  the  other  men  were 
ever  heard  of  again.  ...  I  went  that  night  to 
the  house  of  a  friend  ;  and  in  the  morning  1  sent 
word  to  my  parents  and  brother ;  and  they  came 
for  me.  .  .  . 

"  Once  every  year  I  go  to  the  temple  of  Kom- 
pira  in  Sanuki:  all  who  have  been  saved  from 
shipwreck  go  there  to  give  thanks.  And  I  often 
go  to  the  temple  of  Jizo-Sama  of  Ogawa.  If 
you  will  come  with  me  there  to-morrow,  I  will 
show  you  that  plank." 


Otokichi's  Daruma 


Otokichi's  Daruma 

* 


THE  young  folks  are  delighted,  because  last 
night  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  made  for  us 
what  the  Japanese  poets  so  prettily  call 
"a  silver  world."  .  .  .  Really  these  poets  have 
been  guilty  of  no  extravagance  in  their  charming 
praises  of  winter.     For  in  Japan  winter  is  beauti 
ful,  —  fantastically  beautiful.     It  bestirs  no  mel 
ancholy  imaginings  about  "  the  death  of  nature," 
-  inasmuch  as  nature  remains  most  visibly  alive 
during  even  the   Period   of   Greatest   Cold.     It 
does  not  afflict  the  aesthetic  eye  with  the  spectacle 
of  "skeleton-woods,"  — for   the  woods  largely 
consist  of  evergreens.     And  the  snow,  —  heaping 
softly  upon  the  needles  of  the  pines,  or  forcing 
the  bamboos  to  display  their  bending  grace  under 
its  momentary  weight,  —  never  suggests  to  Far- 
Eastern  poet  the  dismal  fancy  of  a  winding-sheet. 
Indeed  the  singular  charm  of  Japanese  winter  is 
made  by  this  snow,  —  lumping  itself  into  grotes- 
283 


284          Japanese  Miscellany 

queries  unimaginable  above  the  constant  verdure 
of  woods  and  gardens. 

This  morning  my  two  students,  Aki  and  Niimi, 
have  been  amusing  themselves  and  the  children 
by  making  a  Yuki-Daruma;  and  I  have  been 
amusing  myself  by  watching  them.  The  rules 
for  making  a  Yuki-Daruma  are  ancient  and 
simple.  You  first  compose  a  huge  snowball,  — 
between  three  and  four  feet  in  diameter,  if  pos 
sible,  —  which  is  to  represent  the  squatting  body 
of  Daruma.  Then  you  make  a  smaller  snow 
ball,  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  to  represent  his 
head ;  and  you  put  this  smaller  ball  on  top  of  the 
other,  —  packing  snow  around  the  under-parts  of 
both,  so  as  to  fix  them  in  place.  Two  round 
lumps  of  charcoal  serve  to  make  eyes  for  Daruma ; 
and  some  irregular  fragments  of  the  same  materiaj 
will  suffice  to  indicate  his  nose  and  mouth.  Finally, 
you  must  scoop  out  a  hollow  in  the  great  belly  of 
him,  to  represent  a  navel,  and  stick  a  lighted 
candle  inside.  The  warmth  of  the  candle  gradu 
ally  enlarges  the  opening.  .  .  . 

But  1  forgot  to  explain  the  term  Yuki-Daruma, 
or  Snow-Daruma.  "  Daruma  "  is  an  abbreviation 
of  the  name  Bodai-Daruma,  —  Japanese  rendering 


Otokichi's  Daruma  28? 

of  the  Sanscrit  "  Bodhidharma."    And  who  was 
Bodhidharma  ? 

Bodhidharma,  or  Bodhitara,  was  the  twenty- 
eighth  patriarch  of  Buddhism,  by  succession  from 
the  great  Kasyapa.  He  went  to  China  as  a  Bud 
dhist  missionary  in  the  first  year  of  the  Ryo 
dynasty  [520  A.  D.] ;  and  in  China  he  founded 
the  great  Zen  (Dbydna)  sect, —  whose  doctrine  is 
called  "  The  Doctrine  of  Thought  transmitted  by 
Thought " :  that  is  to  say,  transmitted  without 
words,  either  written  or  spoken.  Says  Professor 
Bunyiu  Nanjio,  in  his  History  of  the  Twelve  Bud 
dhist  Sects  :  —  "  Besides  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Mahayana  and  Hinayana,  there  is  one  distinct 
line  of  transmission  of  a  secret  doctrine,  which  is 
not  subject  to  any  utterance  at  all.  According  to 
this  doctrine,  one  is  to  see  the  so-called  key  to  the 
thought  of  Buddha,  or  the  nature  of  Buddha, 
directly  by  his  own  thought."  The  tradition  of 
the  Zen  doctrine  is  curious.  When  the  Buddha 
was  preaching  upon  the  Vulture  Peak,  there  sud 
denly  appeared  before  him  the  great  Brahma,  who 
presented  a  gold-colored  flower  to  the  Blessed 
One,  and  therewith  besought  him  to  preach  the 
Law.  The  Blessed  One  accepted  the  heavenly 


286          Japanese  Miscellany 

flower,  and  held  it  in  his  hand,  but  spoke  no  word. 
Then  the  great  assembly  wondered  at  the  silence 
of  the  Blessed  One.  But  the  venerable  Ktsyapa 
smiled.  And  the  Blessed  One  said  to  the  venerable 
Kasyapa: —  "I  have  the  wonderful  thought  of 
Nirvana,  the  Eye  of  the  True  Law,  which  I  now 
shall  give  you."  ...  So  by  thought  alone  the 
doctrine  was  transmitted  to  Kasyapa;  and  by 
thought  alone  Kasyapa  transmitted  it  to  Ananda ; 
and  thereafter  by  thought  alone  it  was  transmitted 
from  patriarch  to  patriarch  even  to  the  time  of 
Bodhidharma,  who  communicated  it  to  his  suc 
cessor,  the  second  Chinese  patriarch  of  the  sect. 
By  some  writers  it  is  said  that  Bodhidharma 
visited  Japan ;  but  this  statement  appears  to  have 
little  foundation.  At  all  events,  the  Zen  doctrine 
was  not  introduced  into  Japan  before  the  eighth 
century. 

Now  of  the  many  legends  about  Daruma,  the 
most  famous  is  the  story  that  he  once  remained 
for  nine  years  in  uninterrupted  meditation,  during 
which  time  his  legs  fell  off.  Wherefore  images 
of  him  are  made  without  legs. 

Certainly  Daruma  has  large  claims  to  respect. 
But  the  artists  and  the  toymakers  of  the  Far  East 
have  never  allowed  these  claims  to  interfere  with 


288          Japanese  Miscellany 

the  indulgence  of  their  sense  of  humor,  —  origi 
nally  bestirred,  no  doubt,  by  the  story  of  the  loss 
of  his  legs.  For  centuries  this  legendary  mishap 
has  been  made  the  subject  of  comical  drawings 
and  comical  carvings ;  and  generations  of  Japan 
ese  children  have  amused  themselves  with  a  cer 
tain  toy-image  of  Daruma  so  contrived  that, 
however  the  little  figure  be  thrown  down,  it  will 
always  bob  up  again  into  a  squatting  posture. 
This  still  popular  toy,  called  Okiagari-koboshi 
("  The  Getting-up  Little  Priest")  may  have  been 
originally  modelled,  or  remodelled,  after  a  Chinese 
toy  made  upon  the  same  principle,  and  called  Pub- 
Tan- Ung  ("  The  Not-falling-down  Old  Man"). 
Mention  is  made  of  the  Okiagari-KobosU  in  a 
Japanese  play  called  Manju-Kui,  known  to  have 
been  composed  in  the  fourteenth  century.  But  the 
earlier  forms  of  the  toy  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
representations  of  Daruma.  There  is,  however, 
a  children's-song,  dating  from  the  seventeenth 
century,  which  proves  that  the  Daruma-toy  was 
popular  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago :  — 

Hi  ni !  fu  ni ! 
Fundan  Daruma  ga 
Ahai  %ukin  kaburi  sunmaita  I 


Otokichi's  Daruma  289 

["Once!  twice!  .  .  .  Ever  the  red-hooded 
Daruma  heedlessly  sits  up  again !  "]  From  this 
little  song  it  would  seem  that  the  form  of  the 
toy  has  not  been  much  changed  since  the  seven 
teenth  century  ;  Daruma  still  wears  his  hood,  and 
is  still  painted  red  —  all  of  him  except  his  face. 

Besides  the  Snow- Daruma  already  described, 
and  the  toy-Daruma  (usually  made  of  papier- 
mache),  there  are  countless  comical  varieties  of 
Daruma:  figures  moulded  or  carved  in  almost 
every  kind  of  material,  and  ranging  in  size  from 
the  tiny  metal  Daruma,  half-an-inch  long,  de 
signed  for  a  pouch -clasp,  to  the  big  wooden 
Daruma,  two  or  three  feet  high,  which  the  Japan 
ese  tobacconist  has  adopted  for  a  shop-sign.  .  .  . 
Thus  profanely  does  popular  art  deride  the  holy 
legend  of  the  nine  years'  meditation. 


TOY-DARUMA 
19 


290         Japanese  Miscellany 

II 

Now  that  Yuki-Daruma  in  my  garden  reminds 
me  of  a  very  peculiar  Daruma  which  I  discov 
ered  several  years  ago,  at  a  certain  fishing-village 
on  the  eastern  coast  where  I  passed  a  happy 


summer.  There  was  no  hotel  in  the  place ;  but 
a  good  man  called  Otokichi,  who  kept  a  fish- 
shop,  used  to  let  me  occupy  the  upper  part  of  his 
house,  and  fed  me  with  fish  cooked  in  a  wonder 
ful  variety  of  ways. 

One  morning  he  called  me  into  his  shop  to 
show  me  a  very  fine  hobo.  ...  I  wonder  if  you 
ever  saw  anything  resembling  a  hobo.  It  looks 


Otokichi's  Daruma  291 

so  much  like  a  gigantic  butterfly  or  moth,  that 
you  must  examine  it  closely  to  make  sure  that  it 
is  not  an  insect,  but  a  fish,  —  a  sort  of  gurnard. 
It  has  four  fins  arranged  like  pairs  of  wings,  — 
the  upper  pair  dark,  with  bright  spots  of  sky- 
blue  ;  the  lower  pair  deep  red.  It  seems  also  to 
have  legs  like  a  butterfly,  —  slender  legs  upon 
which  it  runs  about  quickly.  .  .  . 

"  Is  it  good  to  eat  ?  "  I  asked. 

"He!"  answered  Otokichi :  —  "  this  shall  be 
prepared  for  the  Honorable  Dinner." 

[To  any  question  asked  of  him,  —  even  a  ques 
tion  requiring  answer  in  the  negative,  —  Otokichi 
would  begin  his  reply  with  the  exclamation  He 
("Yes"),  —  uttered  in  such  a  tone  of  sympathy 
and  good-will  as  to  make  the  hearer  immediately 
forget  all  the  tribulations  of  existence.] 

Then  I  wandered  back  into  the  shop,  looking 
at  things.  On  one  side  were  rows  of  shelves 
supporting  boxes  of  dried  fish,  and  packages  of 
edible  seaweed,  and  bundles  of  straw  sandals, 
and  gourds  for  holding  sake,  and  bottles  of  lem 
onade  !  On  the  opposite  side,  high  up,  I  per 
ceived  the  kamidana,  —  the  Shelf  of  the  Gods ; 
and  I  noticed,  under  the  kamidana,  a  smaller 


292         Japanese  Miscellany 

shelf  occupied  by  a  red  image  of  Daruma.  Evi 
dently  the  image  was  not  a  toy:  there  were 
offerings  in  front  of  it.  1  was  not  surprised 
to  find  Daruma  accepted  as  a  household  divinity, 
—  because  I  knew  that  in  many  parts  of  Japan 


prayers  were  addressed  to  him  on  behalf  of  chil 
dren  attacked  by  smallpox.  But  1  was  rather 
startled  by  the  peculiar  aspect  of  Otokichi's 
Daruma,  which  had  only  one  eye,  —  a  large  and 
formidable  eye  that  seemed  to  glare  through  the 
dusk  of  the  shop  like  the  eye  of  a  great  owl. 
It  was  the  right  eye,  and  was  made  of  glazed  paper. 
The  socket  of  the  left  eye  was  a  white  void. 


Otokichi's  Daruma  293 

Therefore  I  called  to  Otokichi :  - 
"  Otokichi  San !  —  did  the  children  knock  out 
the  left  eye  of  Daruma  Sama  ?  " 

"He,  he!"  sympathetically  chuckled  Otokichi, 

—  lifting  a  superb  katsuo  to  the  cutting-bench, 
-"  he  never  had  a  left  eye." 

"  Was  he  made  that  way  ?  "  I  asked. 
"  He!  "  responded  Otokichi,  —  as  he  swept  his 
long  knife  soundlessly  through  the  argent  body, 

—  "the  folk  here  make  only  blind  Darumas. 
When  I  got  that  Daruma,  he  had  no  eyes  at 
all.    I  made  the  right  eye  for  him  last  year, — 
after  a  day  of  great  fishing." 

"  But  why  not  have  given  him  both  eyes  ? " 
I  queried;  —  "he  looks  so  unhappy  with  only 
one  eye ! " 

"He,  be!"  replied  Otokichi,  —  skilfully  rang 
ing  the  slices  of  pink- and -silver  flesh  upon  a 
little  mat  of  glass  rods,1  — "  when  we  have 
another  day  of  great  good  fortune,  then  he 
shall  be  given  the  other  eye." 

Then  1  walked  about  the  streets  of  the  village, 
peeping  into  the  houses  and  shops;  and  I  dis 
covered  various  other  Darumas  in  different  stages 


Such  a  little  glass  mat  is  called  sudare. 


294         Japanese  Miscellany 

of  development,  —  some  without  eyes,  some  with 
only  one,  and  some  with  two.  I  remembered 
that  in  Izumo  it  was  especially  Hotei,  —  the  big- 
bellied  God  of  Comfort,  —  who  used  to  be  prac 
tically  rewarded  for  his  favors.  As  soon  as  the 
worshipper  found  reason  for  gratitude,  Hotel's 
recumbent  image  was  put  upon  a  soft  cushion; 
and  for  each  additional  grace  bestowed  the  god 
would  be  given  an  additional  cushion.  But  it 
occurred  to  me  that  Daruma  could  not  be  given 
more  than  two  eyes :  three  would  change  him  into 
the  sort  of  goblin  called  Mitsume-Ko^p.  ...  I 
learned,  upon  inquiry,  that  when  a  Daruma  has 
been  presented  with  a  pair  of  eyes,  and  with  sun 
dry  small  offerings,  he  is  put  away  to  make  room 
for  an  eyeless  successor.  The  blind  Daruma  can 
be  expected  to  do  wonderful  things,  because  he 
has  to  work  for  his  eyes. 

There  are  many  such  funny  little  deities  in 
Japan,  —  so  many  that  it  would  need  a  very 
big  book  to  describe  them;  and  I  have  found 
that  the  people  who  worship  these  queer  little 
gods  are,  for  the  most  part,  pathetically  honest. 
Indeed  my  own  experience  would  almost  justify 
the  belief  that  the  more  artless  the  god,  the 


Otokichi's  Daruma  29? 

more  honest  the  man,  —  though  I  do  not  want 
my  reader  to  make  any  hasty  deductions.  I  do 
not  wish  to  imply,  for  example,  that  the  super 
lative  point  of  honesty  might  begin  at  the  van 
ishing  point  of  the  god.  Only  this  much  I  would 
venture :  —  Faith  in  very  small  gods,  —  toy-gods, 
-belongs  to  that  simplicity  of  heart  which,  in 
this  wicked  world,  makes  the  nearest  possible 
approach  to  pure  goodness. 

On  the  evening  before  I  left  the  village, 
Otokichi  brought  me  his  bill,  —  representing 
the  cost  of  two  months'  good  cheer;  —  and  the 
amount  proved  to  be  unreasonably  small.  Of 
course  a  present  was  expected,  according  to  the 
kindly  Japanese  custom;  but,  even  taking  that 
fact  into  consideration,  the  bill  was  absurdly 
honest.  The  least  that  I  could  do  to  show  my 
appreciation  of  many  things  was  to  double  the 
payment  requested;  and  Otokichi's  satisfaction, 
because  perfectly  natural  and  at  the  same  time 
properly  dignified,  was  something  beautiful  to 
see. 

I  was  up  and  dressed  by  half -past  three  the 
next  morning,  in  order  to  take  an  early  express  - 
train;  but  even  at  that  ghostly  hour  I  found 


296          Japanese  Miscellany 

a  warm  breakfast  awaiting  me  downstairs,  and 
Otokichi's  little  brown  daughter  ready  to  serve 
me.  ...  As  I  swallowed  the  final  bowl  of  warm 
tea,  my  gaze  involuntarily  wandered  in  the 
direction  of  the  household  gods,  whose  tiny 
lamps  were  still  glowing.  Then  I  noticed  that 
a  light  was  burning  also  in  front  of  Daruma; 
and  almost  in  the  same  instant  I  perceived  that 
Daruma  was  looking  straight  at  me  —  WITH 
TWO  EYES!  . 


In  a  Japanese  Hospital 


In  a  Japanese  Hospital 


i 


.  .  .  THE  last  patient  of  the  evening,  —  a  boy 
less  than  four  years  old,  —  is  received  by  nurses 
and  surgeons  with  smiles  and  gentle  flatteries,  to 
which  he  does  not  at  all  respond.  ...  He  is 
both  afraid  and  angry  —  especially  angry  — 
at  finding  himself  in  an  hospital  to-night :  some 
indiscreet  person  assured  him  that  he  was  being 
taken  to  the  theatre ;  —  and  he  sang  for  joy  on 
the  way,  forgetting  the  pain  of  his  arm  ;  —  and 
this  is  not  the  theatre  !  There  are  doctors  here 
—  doctors  that  hurt  people.  ...  He  lets  himself 
be  stripped,  and  bears  the  examination  without 
wincing ;  but  when  told  that  he  must  lie  down 
upon  a  certain  low  table,  under  an  electric  lamp, 
he  utters  a  very  emphatic  lya  / x.  .  .  The  expe 
rience  inherited  from  his  ancestors  has  assured 

l  «No!" 

299 


300          Japanese  Miscellany 

him  that  to  lie  down  in  the  presence  of  a  possible 
enemy  is  not  good ;  and  by  the  same  ghostly 
wisdom  he  has  divined  that  the  smile  of  the  sur 
geon  was  intended  to  deceive.  ..."  But  it  will 
be  so  nice  upon  the  table ! "  —  coaxingly  observes 
a  young  nurse ;  —  "  see  the  pretty  red  cloth  !  " 
"  lya  I  "  repeats  the  little  man  —  made  only  more 
wary  by  this  appeal  to  aesthetic  sentiment.  .  .  . 
So  they  lay  hands  upon  him  —  two  surgeons  and 
two  nurses,  —  lift  him  deftly,  —  bear  him  to  the 
table  with  the  red  cloth.  Then  he  shouts  his 
small  cry  of  war,  —  for  he  comes  of  good  fight 
ing  stock,  —  and,  to  the  general  alarm,  battles 
most  valiantly,  in  spite  of  that  broken  arm.  But 
lo !  a  white  wet  cloth  descends  upon  his  eyes 
and  mouth,  —  and  he  cannot  cry,  —  and  there  is 
a  strange  sweet  smell  in  his  nostrils,  —  and  the 
voices  and  the  lights  have  floated  very,  very  far 
away,  —  and  he  is  sinking,  sinking,  sinking  into 
wavy  darkness.  .  .  .  The  slight  limbs  relax ;  - 
for  a  moment  the  breast  heaves  quickly,  in  the 
last  fight  of  the  lungs  against  the  paralyzing 
anaesthetic :  then  all  motion  stops.  .  .  .  Now  the 
cloth  is  removed ;  and  the  face  reappears  —  all 
the  anger  and  pain  gone  out  of  it.  So  smile  the 
little  gods  that  watch  the  sleep  of  the  dead.  .  .  . 


In  a  Japanese  Hospital 

Quickly  the  ends  of  the  fractured  bone  are 
brought  into  place  with  a  clear  snap;  —  ban 
dages  and  cotton  and  plaster-of- Paris,  and  yet 
more  bandages,  are  rapidly  applied  by  expert 
hands ;  —  the  face  and  little  hands  are  sponged. 
Then  the  patient,  still  insensible,  is  wrapped  in  a 
blanket  and  taken  away.  .  .  .  Interval,  between 
entrance  and  exit :  twelve  minutes  and  a  half. 

Nothing  is  commonplace  as  seen  for  the  first 
time;  and  the  really  painless  details  of  the  in 
cident  —  the  stifling  of  the  cry,  the  sudden  numb 
ing  of  will,  the  subsequent  pallid  calm  of  the  little 
face  —  so  simulated  tragedy  as  to  set  imagination 
wandering  in  darksome  ways.  ...  A  single 
wicked  blow  would  have  produced  exactly  the 
same  results  of  silence  and  smiling  rest.  Count 
less  times  in  the  countless  ages  of  the  past  it  must 
have  done  so  ;  —  countless  times  passion  must 
have  discerned,  in  the  sudden  passionless  beauty 
of  the  stricken,  the  eternal  consequence  of  the 
act.  .  .  .  Till  the  heavens  be  no  more  they  shall 
not  awake,  nor  he  roused  out  of  their  sleep. 
"  Till  the  heavens  be  no  more"  —  but  after  ? 
Thereafter  —  perhaps :  yet  never  again  the 
same.  , 


302  Japanese  Miscellany 

But  I  felt  that  I  had  been  startled  more  than 
touched  by  that  sudden  suppression  of  the  per 
sonality,  the  Self,  —  because  of  the  mystery 
thereby  made  manifest.  In  one  moment,  - 
under  the  vapor  of  a  chemical,  —  voice,  motion, 
will,  thought,  all  pleasure  and  pain  and  memory, 
had  ceased  to  be ;  —  the  whole  life  of  the  budding 
senses,  —  the  delicate  machinery  of  the  little 
brain,  with  its  possible  priceless  inheritance  from 
countless  generations,  —  had  been  stilled  and 
stopped  as  by  the  very  touch  of  death.  And 
there  remained,  to  all  outward  seeming,  only  the 
form,  the  simulacrum,  —  a  doll  of  plastic  flesh, 
with  the  faint  unconscious  smile  of  an  icon.  .  .  . 

The  faces  of  the  little  stone  Buddhas,  who 
dream  by  roadsides  or  above  the  graves,  have 
the  soft  charm  of  Japanese  infancy.  They  re 
semble  the  faces  of  children  asleep ;  —  and  you 
must  have  seen  Japanese  children  asleep  to  know 
the  curious  beauty  of  the  immature  features,  - 
the  vague  sweetness  of  the  lines  of  lids  and  lips. 
In  the  art  of  the  Buddhist  image-maker,  the 
peace  of  the  divine  condition  is  suggested  by 
the  same  shadowy  smile  that  makes  beautiful 
the  slumber  of  the  child. 


In  a  Japanese  Hospital        303 

II 

THE  memory  of  icons  naturally  evoked  remem 
brance  of  those  powers  which  icons  do  but  sym 
bolize  ;  and  presently  I  found  myself  thinking 
that,  to  the  vision  of  a  God,  the  entire  course  of 
a  human  life  would  appear  much  like  the  incident 
which  I  had  just  witnessed,  —  a  coming,  a  crying 
and  struggling,  and  a  sudden  vanishing  of  per 
sonality  under  the  resistless  anaesthetic  of  death. 
(I  am  not  speaking  of  a  cosmic  divinity,  to  whom 
the  interval  between  the  kindling  and  the  extinc 
tion  of  a  sun  would  seem  as  brief  as  seems  to  us 
the  flash  of  a  firefly  in  the  night:  I  mean  an 
anthropomorphic  God.)  According  to  Herbert 
Spencer,  the  tiny  consciousness  of  a  gnat  can  dis 
tinguish  intervals  of  time  representing  something 
between  the  ten-thousandth  and  the  fifteen- 
thousandth  part  of  a  second.  For  a  being  as 
mentally  superior  to  man  as  man  to  the  gnat, 
would  not  the  time  of  a  generation  appear  but  an 
instant  ?  Would  such  a  being  perceive  our  human 
existence  at  all,  except  as  a  budding  and  a  wither 
ing, —  a  ceaseless  swift  succession  of  apparitions 
and  disparitions,  —  a  mere  phenomenon  of  fer 
mentation  peculiar  to  the  surface  of  a  cooling 


204          Japanese  Miscellany 

planet  ?  Of  course,  were  he  to  study  that  phe 
nomenon  in  detail,  somewhat  as  we  study  fer 
ments  under  the  lens,  he  would  not  see  the  smile 
of  the  babe  change  instantaneously  to  the  laughter 
of  the  skull ;  —  but  1  fancy  that  whatever  might 
psychologically  happen,  between  the  first  smile  of 
rosy  flesh  and  the  last  dull  grin  of  bone,  would 
remain  for  him  as  indistinguishable  as  the  gnat's 
ten  or  fifteen  thousand  wing-beats  per  second 
remain  for  us.  I  doubt  whether  the  God  of  a 
system,  or  even  of  a  single  world,  could  sympa 
thize  with  our  emotions  any  more  than  we  our 
selves  can  sympathize  with  the  life  that  thrills  in 
a  droplet  of  putrid  water.  .  .  . 

But  what  is  this  human  creature  that,  in  the 
sight  of  a  God,  might  seem  to  rise  from  earth 
merely  to  weep  and  laugh  one  moment  in  the 
light,  ere  crumbling  back  to  clay  again  ?  A  form 
evolved,  in  the  course  of  a  hundred  million  years, 
from  out  some  shapeless  speck  of  primordial 
slime.  But  this  knowledge  of  the  evolution  no 
wise  illuminates  the  secret  of  the  life  in  itself,  — 
the  secret  of  the  sentiency  struggling  against  de 
struction  through  all  those  million  centuries, - 
ever  contriving  and  building,  to  baffle  death,  more 


In  a  Japanese  Hospital        30? 

and  more  astounding  complexities  of  substance, 
more  and  yet  more  marvellous  complexities  of 
mind,  —  and  able  at  last  to  prolong  the  term  of 
its  being  from  the  primal  duration  of  an  instant 
to  the  possible  human  age  of  a  hundred  years. 
The  sentiency  is  the  riddle  of  riddles.  Thought 
has  been  proved  a  compounding  of  sensation. 
But  the  simplest  sensation  perceptible  is  itself  a 
compound  or  the  result  of  a  compounding, - 
perhaps  the  shock  of  a  fusion,  —  the  flash  of  a 
blending ;  —  and  the  mystery  of  life  remains  the 
most  inscrutable,  the  most  tremendous,  the  most 
appalling  of  enigmas. 

From  the  terror  of  that  mystery  our  fathers 
sought  to  save  their  world  by  uttering  the  black 
decree  :  —  "  On  pain  of  sword  and  fire,  —  on 
peril  of  the  Everlasting  Death,  —  THOU  SHALT 
NOT  THINK!" 

But  the  elder  wisdom  of  the  East  proclaimed : 
"  Fear  not  to  think,  O  child  of  the  Abyss,  upon 
the  Depth  that  gave  thee  birth !  Divining  that 
Formless  out  of  which  thou  hast  come,  into 
which  thou  must  dissolve  again,  thou  shalt  know 
thy  Being  timeless,  and  infinitely  One  !  .  .  ." 


20 


STORIES    AND    SKETCHES 
OF  JAPAN 

BY  LAFCADIO  HEARN 

In  Ghostly  Japan  A  Japanese  Miscellany 

Exotics  and  Retrospectives  Shadowings 

New  Popzilar  Editions.      Illustrated,      l6mo 
4  VOLS.   IN  BOX,  $5.00 

IN  GHOSTLY  JAPAN 

Illustrated.  l6mo.    $1.25.    Original  Edition.    I2mo.    $2.00 

CONTENTS 

Fragment  Ululation 

Furisode  Bits  of  Poetry 

Incense  Japanese  Buddhist  Proverbs 

A  Story  of  Divination  Suggestion 

Silkworms  Ingwa-Banashi 

A  Passional  Karma  Story  of  a  Tengu 

Footprints  of  the  Buddha      At  Yaidzu 

Thoughts  and  dreams  and  observations  that  are  ex 
quisite  beyond  words.  Almost  more  than  any  previous 
work,  these  sketches  take  one  into  the  very  heart  of 
Japanese  life.  —  New  Orleans  Times-Democrat. 

The  treatise  on  incense  is  a  revelation.  ...  No  one 
but  a  poet  of  the  rarest  imagination  could  comprehend 
the  significance  and  beauty  of  these  old  Japanese 
romances  and  legends.  —  Brooklyn  Life. 


WORKS     OF     LAFCADIO     HEARN 

EXOTICS  AND  RETROSPECTIVES 

Illustrated.      I6mo.      $1.25 

CONTENTS 
Exotics  Retrospectives 

Fuji-No-Yama  First  Impressions 

Insect-Musicians  Beauty  is  Memory 

A  Question  in  the  Zen  Texts    Sadness  in  Beauty 
Buddhist  Literature  of  the     Parfum  de  Jeunesse 

Dead  Azure  Psychology 

Frogs  A  Serenade 

Of  Moon-Desire  A  Red  Sunset 

Frisson 

Vespertina  Cognitio 
The  Eternal  Haunters 

If  one  were  to  attempt  any  adequate  quotation,  he 
would  quote  the  entire  book.  It  is  one  to  be  lived  with. 
—  LILIAN  WHITING,  in  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

It  has  the  deep  azure  coloring  of  Fuji-San,  the  sacred 
mountain  ;  it  utters  the  chirping  note  of  Suzmnushi,  the 
caged  insect  ;  it  is  as  melodious  as  Kajika,  the  singing 
frog,  and  is  altogether  lovely.  —  Literary  World. 

Full  of  that  wonderful  power  of  vivid  portrayal  and 
of  poetic  fancy  that  makes  his  work  always  unique.  — 
New  Orleans  Picayune. 

The  essays  in  the  latter  portion  of  the  book,  which  are 
grouped  under  the  heading  of  "  Retrospectives,'1  are 
psychological  and  aesthetic  in  character,  and  have  a  deli 
cacy  and  a  subtlety  that  are  delightful  —  Brooklyn  Life. 


WORKS    OF    LAFCADIO    HEARN 

SHADOWINGS 

Illustrated.    l6mo.    $1.25.   Original  edition.    I2mo.   $2.00 

CONTENTS 

STORIES  FROM  STRANGE  BOOKS 

1.  The  Reconciliation  4.  The  Corpse-Rider 

2.  A  Legend  of  Fugen-  5-  The  Sympathy  of  Benton 

Bosatsu  6.  The  Gratitude  of  the 

3.  The  Screen-Maiden  Samebito 
JAPANESE  STUDIES 

1.  Semi  (Cicadae)  3.  Old  Japanese  Songs 

2.  Japanese  Female  Names 

FANTASIES 

1.  Noctilucae  5.  Nightmare  Touch 

2.  A  Mystery  of  Crowds  6.  Readings  from  a  Dream- 

3.  Gothic  Horror  Book 

4.  Levitation  7.  in  a  Pair  of  Eyes 

Japan,  under  the  pen  of  this  brilliant  writer,  becomes 
a  land  of  wonder,  of  haunting  exotic  mystery,  having 
little  in  common  with  the  Japan  of  ordinary,  superficial 
report.  —  Baltimore  News. 

Constant  daily  association  with  the  Japanese,  and 
sympathetic  study  of  their  literature,  have  given  Mr. 
Hearn  an  insight  into  the  folklore  of  the  people  that  no 
other  foreigner  has  obtained.  —  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

The  book  as  a  whole  is  stamped  with  the  Japanese 
sensitiveness  to  beauty,  and  is  very  suggestive  of  familiar 
ity  with  the  esoteric  and  unusual.  —  Outlook,  New  York. 


WORKS    OF    LAFCADIO    HEARN 

A  JAPANESE  MISCELLANY 

Illustrated.    l6mo.    $1.25.    Original  edition.    I2mo.    $2.00 

CONTENTS 
STRANGE  STORIES 

I.  Of  a  Promise  Kept  V.  The  Story  of  Umetsu 

II.  Of  a  Promise  Broken  Chubei 

III.  Before  the  Supreme  Court  VI.  The  Story  of  Kogi  the 

IV.  The  Story  of  Kwashin  Priest 

Koji 

FOLKLORE  GLEANINGS 
I.  Dragon-Flies 

II.  Buddhist  Nomenclature  of  Plants  and  Animals 
III.  Songs  of  Japanese  Children 
STUDIES  HERE  AND  THERE 
I.  On  a  Bridge  IV.  Drifting 

II.  The  Case  of  O-Dai  V.  Otokichi's  Daruma 

III.  Beside  the  Sea  VI.  In  a  Japanese  Hospital 

A  book  which  breathes  from  its  every  page  the  life  of 
the  land  with  which  it  deals.  —  Newark  News. 

It  astonishes  as  much  as  it  delights  by  the  patient  and 
scholarly  research  revealed  in  every  page.  — Los  Angeles 
Express. 

The  delicate  atmosphere  of  mystery,  as  elusive  as  the 
sunset  mist  of  an  Indian  summer  twilight,  pervades  this 
as  all  other  of  Mr.  Hearn's  fascinating  Japanese  story 
books.  —  Christian  Register,  Boston. 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  &  CO.,  Publishers 

254  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


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